THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

GIFT  OF 
Tomas  S.   Vanasek 


History 


OF  THE 


Third  Indiana  Cavalry 


BY 


W.  N.  Pickerill 


Indianapolis,  Indiana 
1906 


AETNA  PRINTING  CO. 
INDIANAPOLIS 


LOAN  STACK 
GIFT 


DEDICATION. 

To  the  brave  men  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  who  served  in 
the  Civil  War,  whether  now  living  or  sleeping  where  loving  hands 
have  laid  them,  or  in  unknown  and  unmarked  graves,  in  Southern 
lands,  this  volume  is  affectionately  inscribed. 


440 


PREFACE. 

One  hundred  and  thirty  volumes,  published  by  authority  of 
Congress,  and  entitled  "The  War  of  the  Rebellion,  Official  Records 
of  the  Union  and  Confederate  Armies,"  are  supposed  to  contain 
a  history  of  every  military  organization  serving  on  either  side  of 
the  mighty  conflict,  known  as  the  Civil  War,  from  1861  to  1865. 

To  read  the  story  of  a  regiment,  as  the  government  has  preserved 
it,  in  all  these  numerous  volumes,  which  as  a  rule  are  only  found 
in  public  libraries,  or  in  the  collections  of  a  few  fortunate  indi 
viduals,  would  be  the  work  of  a  good  part  of  the  lifetime  of  many 
of  those  who  survive,  but  had  somewhat  to  do  with  the  great 
struggle.  To  serve  these  worthy  men,  their  families,  and  those 
who  have  gone  out  from  among  us,  but  have  left  posterity,  to 
whom  their  memories  and  deeds  of  valor  are  very  precious,  this 
history  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  has  been  prepared. 

Much  of  what  is  herein  offered  to  those  who  read  this  book  was 
written — at  the  time  when  the  deeds  herein  recorded  were  enacted 
— by  those  in  authority,  and  while  those  deeds  were  fresh  in  the 
minds  of  the  participants.  This  volume  is  more  a  compilation  of 
what  others,  better  qualified,  have  written  than  a  narration  in  the 
writer's  own  language  of  the  interesting  story  of  one  of  the  most 
splendid  regiments  that  served  in  the  Civil  War.  The  records  are 
referred  to  by  volume  and  page,  so  that  it  will  always  be  possible 
for  the  doubting  to  verify  the  correctness  of  what  is  herein  writ 
ten,  should  they  have  access  to  the  records.  Many  things  still 
vivid  in  our  memories,  the  recital  of  which  would  tell  an  interest 
ing  story  of  the  valor  and  devotion  to  duty  of  our  comrades,  never 
found  a  place  in  any  record  or  report,  as  seems  to  have  been  neces 
sarily  true  of  any  regiment  in  the  cavalry  service,  while  others, 


for  whose  omission  there  seems  hardly  to  be  any  excuse,  have  been 
preserved  in  the  reports  of  famous  leaders  of  our  enemies,  whom 
we  met  on  many  a  well  contested  field. 

The  daily  life  of  the  common  soldier,  as  it  was  lived  in  our 
war,  in  camp,  on  the  march,  on  picket,  in  the  hospital,  in  captivity 
in  Southern  prisons,  and  on  the  battlefield,  can  never  be  under 
stood  or  fully  appreciated  except  by  those  who  lived  that  life,  and 
its  portrayal,  that  others  may  realize  it  as  we  realized  it,  must 
ever  remain  unwritten  history. 

Indianapolis,  May,  1906. 


History  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry. 


CHAPTEK  I. 

The  period  for  which  seventy-five  thousand  troops  had  heen 
enlisted  was  nearing  its  close  and  little  had  been  accomplished  in 
the  way  of  ending  the  rebellion,  while  with  each  passing  day  the 
rebellion  itself  grew  to  more  formidable  proportions,  and  its  pro 
moters  became  more  defiant  and  confident  of  their  ability  to  cope 
with  any  force  the  government  at  Washington  might  send  against 
them.  This  was  the  situation  long  before  the  term  of  enlistment 
of  the  first  seventy-five  thousand  volunteers  had  expired. 

On  the  first  day  of  July,  1861,  came  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  at 
Manassas,  Virginia,  in  which  the  best  troops  at  the  disposal  of  the 
government  met  a  superior  body  of  troops  under  General  Beaure- 
gard,  in  which  the  government  forces  were  completely  routed  and 
fled  in  confusion  to  the  defenses  of  Washington,  pursued  by  the 
victorious  confederates  with  the  evident  purpose  of  taking  pos 
session  of  and  holding  the  Capital  of  the  country.  They  paused 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Potomac,  almost  within  cannon  shot  of 
where  Congress  was  sitting,  and  made  their  camp  there  for  months. 

The  seriousness  of  the  situation  now  took  possession  of  the 
people  both  North  and  South.  In  the  North  the  feeling  of  con 
sternation  among  those  who  believed  the  government  should  be 
upheld  gave  place  to  a  grim  determination  that  the  government 
must  be  sustained  at  all  hazards,  and  in  no  section  of  the  entire 
country  was  this  feeling  more  intense  than  in  the  State  of  Indiana. 
From  the  very  first  Governor  Morton  was  apparently  impressed 
with  the  impending  tragedy,  and  while  he  promptly  equipped  and 


8  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

hurried  to  the  field  the  forty-six  hundred  and  eighty  men  called 
for  by  President  Lincoln's  first  proclamation,  he  foresaw  that  he 
would  soon  be  called  on  for  additional  troops  by  the  general  govern 
ment,  and  within  five  days  after  he  had  issued  his  first  call  he 
tendered  the  Secretary  of  War  six  additional  regiments  without 
limitation  as  to  the  time  they  were  to  serve,  assuring  that  official 
that  they  would  be  ready  for  the  service  within  five  days  after 
acceptance.  He  received  no  response  to  this  offer,  but  at  once  set 
about  putting  six  additional  regiments  in  camp  under  discipline 
and  held  them  subject  to  the  demand  of  the  government.  There 
were  in  Camp  Morton  twenty-nine  companies  in  excess  of  the 
number  of  men  required  to  fill  the  first  call  for  troops,  and  sixty- 
eight  companies  had  been  raised  in  different  parts  of  the  State  and 
tendered  to  the  Governor  for  active  service;  and  the  Governor  on 
his  own  responsibility  determined  to  organize  five  regiments  of 
"twelve-months"  men  for  the  defense  of  the  State,  or  for  the 
general  service,  as  the  future  might  require,  the  regiments  to  be 
composed  of  the  first  fifty  companies  already  raised.  All  volun 
teers  who  had  enlisted  for  three  months  and  were  unwilling  to 
enlist  for  one  year  were  directed  to  be  discharged. 

Although  among  many  of  those  desiring  to  enlist  there  was  a 
strong  inclination  to  enter  the  cavalry  service,  yet  by  reason  of  the 
position  taken  by  General  Winfield  Scott,  the  head  of  the  army, 
organizations  for  this  branch  of  the  service  had  not  been  encour 
aged  by  the  authorities;  but,  on  the  10th  of  June,  1861,  in  pur 
suance  to  instructions  from  the  War  Department,  orders  were 
issued  for  the  organization  of  a  cavalry  regiment  in  the  counties 
of  Indiana  bordering  on  the  Ohio  river,  and  camps  of  rendezvous 
were  established  at  Evansville  and  Madison.  The  organization 
of  eight  companies  was  completed  at  Evansville  and  mustered 
in  on  the  20th  of  August,  1861,  with  Conrad  Baker  as  colonel  and 
Scott  Carter,  of  Vevay,  Switzerland  county,  as  lieutenant-colonel. 
The  eight  companies  at  Evansville  under  Colonel  Baker,  on  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  9 

21st  of  August,  1861,  were  ordered  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  The 
five  companies  organized  at  Madison  under  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Carter,  and  the  one  company  organized  at  Indianapolis,  which 
was  ordered  to  proceed  to  Madison  and  join  the  companies  already 
there,  were  mustered  into  the  service  on  the  22d  day  of  August, 
1861,  and  were  ordered  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  under  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Carter,  and  on  the  22d  of  October,  1861,  by  general 
orders  of  the  Adjutant-General  of  the  United  States,  these  six 
companies  united  with  four  companies  which  had  been  accepted  in 
September  and  October,  1861,  and  ordered  to  Kentucky,  were 
designated  as  the  Third  Cavalry  (Forty-fifth  Regiment).  In 
December,  1862,  two  new  companies  were  organized  and  added 
to  the  regiment. 

The  six  companies  that  had  been  ordered  to  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  were  designated  as  Companies  A,  B,  C,  D,  E  and  F,  and 
the  four  companies  that  had  been  ordered  to  Kentucky  were  des 
ignated  as  Companies  G,  H,  I  and  K.  The  officers  of  the  six  com 
panies  were  mustered  to  date  from  the  22d  of  August,  1861,  and 
the  officers  of  the  respective  companies  as  originally  organized 
were  as  follows :  Company  A,  Captain  Jacob  S.  Buchanan,  First 
Lieutenant  William  Patton,  Second  Lieutenant  Eobert  P.  Porter ; 
Company  B,  Captain  James  D.  Irwin,  First  Lieutenant  Benjamin 
Q.  A.  Gresham,  Second  Lieutenant  Marshall  Lahue ;  Company  C, 
Captain  Theophilus  M.  Danglade,  First  Lieutenant  Charles 
Lemon,  Second  Lieutenant  Paul  Clark;  Company  D,  Captain 
Daniel  P.  Keister,  First  Lieutenant  Mathew  B.  Mason,  Second 
Lieutenant  Henry  F.  Wright;  Company  E,  Captain  William  S. 
McClure,  First  Lieutenant  George  H.  Thompson,  Second  Lieu 
tenant  Abner  L.  Shannon ;  Company  F,  Captain  Patrick  Garland, 
First  Lieutenant  Oliver  M.  Powers,  Second  Lieutenant  Thomas 
M.  Moffitt;  Company  G,  Captain  Felix  W.  Graham,  First  Lieu 
tenant  George  F.  Herriott,  Second  Lieutenant  John  S.  Kephart; 
Company  H,  Captain  Alfred  Gaddis,  First  Lieutenant  Joseph  M. 


10  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

• 
Douglas,  Second  Lieutenant  Uriah  Young;  Company  I,  Captain 

Will  C.  Moreau,  First  Lieutenant  Tighlman  Fish,  Second  Lieu 
tenant  Oliver  Childs;  Company  K,  Captain  Robert  Klein,  First 
Lieutenant  Christoph  Roll,  Second  Lieutenant  George  Klein. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Scott  Carter  was  named  as  colonel  of  the  new 
regiment  upon  its  organization,  and  First  Lieutenant  George  H. 
Thompson,  of  Company  E,  was  detailed  as  adjutant. 

On  the  21st  of  October,  1861,  Elias  W.  H.  Beck  was  mustered 
in  as  surgeon,  Luther  Brosie  as  assistant  surgeon  of  the  regiment, 
George  H.  Chapman  as  major.  On  the  8th  of  November,  1861, 
Captain  Jacob  S.  Buchanan,  of  Company  A,  was  promoted  and 
mustered  in  as  lieutenant-colonel.  On  the  15th  of  December, 
1861,  First  Lieutenant  William  Patton,  of  Company  A,  was  pro 
moted  and  mustered  in  as  captain  of  the  company  to  fill  the  va 
cancy  created  by  the  promotion  of  Captain  Buchanan  to  lieu 
tenant-colonel,  and  First  Lieutenant  Charles  Lemon  was  promoted 
and  mustered  captain  of  Company  C  to  fill  the  vacancy  created 
by  the  resignation  of  Captain  Danglade,  of  that  company. 

The  officers  of  this  newly  named  regiment,  like  the  men,  as  to 
former  vocations  in  life,  were  a  motley  aggregation,  and  the  entire 
organization  perhaps  knew  less  about  war  than  any  other  matter. 
The  colonel  and  lieutenant-colonel  had  been  attorneys-at-law  in 
their  respective  homes,  and  it  was  said  the  former  had  seen  service 
in  the  Mexican  war.  Major  Chapman  had  been  a  midshipman  in 
the  navy,  editor  of  two  or  three  newspapers,  attorney-at-law  and 
a  clerk  in  one  of  the  departments  at  Washington.  Other  company 
officers  had  been  farmers,  teachers,  tailors,  steamboatmen,  livery 
stable  keepers,  merchants,  and  one  captain  had  been  a  minister  in 
the  Methodist  church  fresh  from  his  pulpit,  while  his  orderly 
sergeant  was  a  storming  Universalist  preacher  who  never  hesi 
tated  to  combat  the  theology  of  any  one,  regardless  of  rank,  whose 
theology  conflicted  with  his  peculiar  views. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  11 

The  six  companies  ordered  from  Madison  to  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  were  loaded  on  steamboats  chartered  by  the  government 
and  started  up  the  Ohio  river.  On  board  the  Stephen  Decatur 
this  theologically  belligerent  orderly  sergeant  preached  to  the 
prospective  soldiers  on  board  a  sermon  full  of  comfort  to  those 
who  were  doubtful  of  their  future  state.  At  this  time  men  and 
officers  alike  were  kindergarten  pupils  in  the  art  of  war.  Their 
equipments  were  halters  for  the  horses,  uniforms,  spurs  and 
blankets  for  the  men,  except  the  officers  who  had  drawn  upon  their 
home  resources,  gorgeously  uniformed  themselves  and  were  mag 
nificently  mounted  with  trappings  that  inspired  the  envy  of  their 
men.  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  hardly  arrayed  like  unto  one 
of  these.  The  steamboats  transporting  these  six  companies  strug 
gled  with  low  water  and  sandbars  in  the  Ohio  river  until  Wheel 
ing,  Virginia,  was  reached,  when  water  transportation  was  aban 
doned  entirely  and  the  command  took  to  the  mountains,  heading 
towards  Pittsburg. 

On  this  march  the  men  first  developed  soldierly  qualities,  which 
they  learned  to  cultivate  and  improve  upon  during  the  entire 
period  of  service.  As  they  traveled  across  the  country  the  farm 
houses  along  the  way  were  besieged  by  the  men  for  wheat  sacks 
or  anything  else  out  of  which  they  could  improvise  some  sort  of  a 
saddle,  by  stuffing  the  same  with  straw,  while  clotheslines  pro 
cured  in  the  same  manner  were  cut  into  lengths  and  used  for 
stirrups.  Thus  mounted  and  guiding  their  horses  with  only  the 
halters,  which  the  government  had  furnished,  and  directed  by 
their  gaily  caparisoned  officers,  the  aggregation  afforded  a  spec 
tacle  for  gods  and  men.  But  aside  from  these  disfiguring  accoutre 
ments,  the  battalion  was  a  splendid  body  of  fine  looking  young 
men,  each  of  whom  in  his  own  right  owned  a  good  Indiana  horse, 
and  they  were  on  the  way  to  the  Capital  of  their  country  to  be 
equipped  as  cavalry  soldiers  in  her  service,  and  the  loyal  people 
of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  gave  us  a  royal  welcome,  fed  us  on 


12  HlSTOKY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

the  fat  of  the  land,  and  bade  us  good-bye  with  their  blessing.  After 
three  days,  never  to  be  forgotten,  we  reached  Pittsburg,  were 
loaded  into  cars,  such  as  they  hauled  soldiers  in,  and  after  a  day 
and  night  on  the  railroad  we  were  dropped  down,  in  the  night,  at 
the  Baltimore  depot  in  the  city  of  Washington. 

On  their  arrival  at  Washington  City  in  the  early  days  of  Sep 
tember,  1861,  the  six  companies  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry, 
that  had  been  ordered  from  Madison,  Indiana,  to  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  were  assigned  to  a  camp  on  the  northeastern  out- 
skirt  of  the  city,  where  they  were  further  partially  equipped,  being 
furnished  with  saddles  and  bridles  for  the  horses,  haversacks, 
canteens,  sabers  and  dragoon  pistols.  This  latter  implement  of 
war  was  better  known  by  those  unfamiliar  with  martial  parlance 
as  the  "horse  pistol/7  perhaps  because  the  cavalry  soldiers  of  the 
old  regular  army  were  called  dragoons  and  they  carried  two  of 
these  pistols  in  holsters  fastened  on  the  front  part  of  their  saddles. 
It  was  about  a  foot  long  and  was  loaded  at  the  muzzle  by  means 
of  an  iron  ramrod  attached  to  the  under  side  of  the  barrel  and 
when  fired  kicked  about  as  hard  as  it  would  shoot,  and  the  man 
behind  it  was  in  more  danger  than  the  man  in  front.  It  was  so 
hard  on  trigger  that  when  the  marksman  took  aim  at  the  enemy 
by  the  time  his  pistol  was  discharged  he  was  liable  to  be  shooting 
at  the  men  in  his  own  regiment.  In  practicing  marksmanship  it 
was  never  wise  to  choose  for  a  mark  anything  smaller  than  a  good 
sized  barn,  and  if  right-handed  when  you  aimed  at  one  end  you 
would  hit  the  other  or  miss  the  mark  entirely.  This  was  the 
weapon  with  which  Southern  .chivalry  fought  duels  in  the  days 
when  dueling  was  fashionable,  and  after  our  experience  we  could 
understand  how  duelists  were  sometimes  hurt  or  killed  because 
they  stood  with  their  backs  to  each  other  and  at  the  count  of  "One, 
two,  three,"  they  wheeled  and  fired,  and  in  the  grand  sweep  some 
body  might  accidentally  be  hit,  but  it  was  just  as  likely  to  be  the 
seconds  or  bystanders  as  the  combatants.  Certainly  our  fore- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  13 

fathers  who  attended  duels  were  brave  men  and  took  their  lives  in 
their  hands  unless  stationed  in  trees  or  hid  in  the  bushes  on  some 
neighboring  farm. 

As  soon  as  equipped  this  battalion  began  a  persistent  course  of 
drilling  on  horseback,  with  such  weapons  as  the  government  fur 
nished.  We  practiced  jumping  our  horses  over  low  fences  and 
narrow  ravines  and  gutters  with  which  the  clay  hillsides  around 
Washington  in  those  days  abounded.  And  in  these  exercises  there 
was  many  a  miscalculation  by  the  embryo  cavalryman.  Often  he 
found  his  horse  able  to  jump  but  half  as  high  or  as  far  as  he  had 
supposed  he  could,  and  the  last  half  of  the  jump  would  take  the 
form  of  a  somersault,  in  which  the  horse  would  come  out  on  top 
and  the  rider  underneath  or  left  stranded  on  the  top  rail  of  a 
fence  or  in  the  bottom  of  a  ditch.  It  was  fun  for  the  beholder,  but 
hard  on  the  jumper.  In  these  incipient  days  of  our  military  prepa 
ration  we  saw  a  bold  orderly  sergeant  yell  in  stentorian  voice,  "Men, 
follow  me  when  I  jump  that  ditch  right  there,"  and  with  the  com 
mand  he  plunged  his  spurs  into  the  protuberant  flanks  of  his  big 
Indiana  plow  horse  and  the  next  minute  the  horse,  which  fell 
short  in  his  reach,  was  standing  on  his  head  in  the  ditch  and  the 
orderly  sergeant  was  sprawling  on  his  back  with  canteen,  haver 
sack,  saber  and  pistol  all  flying  in  different  directions,  much  to 
the  amusement  of  the  braves  who  were  bringing  up  the  rear.  This 
was  one  of  the  amusing  things  in  our  early  cavalry  drill,  but  in 
due  season  we  were  sent  to  the  division  of  General  Hooker,  at 
Bladensburg,  where  duels  were  fought  by  our  revolutionary  sires 
(with  horse  pistols,  no  doubt). 

The  battalion  continued  its  drill  exercises  after  it  went  into 
camp  at  Bladensburg,  and  when  General  Hooker  with  his  division 
was  ordered  to  Budds  Ferry,  Maryland,  twenty-five  miles  south 
of  Washington  on  the  lower  Potomac,  it  continued  a  part  of  his 
command  and  was  the  only  cavalry  with  him.  About  December, 
1861,  Companies  B  and  F  were  sent  still  further  south  into  St. 


14  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

Marys  county,  Maryland,  and  Company  E  into  Charles  county, 
near  Port  Tobacco.  The  population  of  this  section  of  the  country 
was  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  the  South  and  slavery  in  its 
purity  had  existed  there  for  more  than  a  hundred  years;  slave 
property  was  the  principal  thing  of  value  there  when  the  war  broke 
out.  The  region  was  on  a  direct  line  between  Washington  and 
Richmond,  and  the  lower  Potomac  was  constantly  being  crossed 
by  people  going  from  one  point  to  the  other.  The  confederate 
authorities  at  Richmond  were  kept  as  well  informed  regarding 
all  military  movements  within  the  federal  lines  as  were  the  federal 
authorities  themselves. 

The  three  companies  sent  into  these  counties  were  under  the 
command  of  Major  Chapman,  who  established  his  headquarters 
at  Leonardtown,  the  county  seat  of  St.  Marys  county,  and  dis 
tributed  his  men  in  small  squads  at  various  points  along  the 
Potomac  from  Chaptico  to  the  mouth  of  the  Pautuxent  river,  and 
it  was  their  duty  to  patrol  the  river  and  picket  the  mouths  of  the 
numerous  creeks  flowing  into  the  river  from  the  Maryland  side. 
Contraband  traffic  of  all  kinds  with  Virginia  was  carried  on  to 
and  from  the  mouths  of  these  creeks  by  means  of  small  sail  and 
row  boats  managed  by  a  desperate  class  of  negroes  and  white  men 
for  the  compensation  which  blockade  runners  were  willing  to  pay 
for  their  services.  This  part  of  the  river  was  patrolled  by  a  flotilla 
of  gunboats  under  the  commond  of  Commodore  McRae,  of  the 
navy,  but  it  seemed  to  be  an  easy  matter  for  the  blockade  runners, 
in  these  small  row  and  sail  boats,  in  the  stillness  of  the  night,  as 
was  usually  the  case,  to  dodge  past  the  gunboats  and  put  into  the 
mouth  of  some  creek,  and  thus  escape  capture  at  their  hands.  The 
men  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  on  picket  at  these  points  accom 
plished  what  the  gunboats  failed  to  accomplish,  and  many  of  the 
blockade  runners  fell  into  their  hands,  after  escaping  the  gun 
boats,  and  were  hurried  away  to  General  Hooker's  headquarters 
to  be  dealt  with  as  his  judgment  directed.  This  was  the  winter's 


HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  15 

work  of  these  three  companies,  and  many  of  the  men,  besides  being 
active  cavalrymen  on  land,  became  skilled  in  the  handling  of  small 
boats  to  such  an  extent  that  General  Hooker  called  them  his 
"horse  marines." 

There  were  at  this  time  some  loyal  people  in  the  State  of  Mary 
land  and  in  the  person  of  Hon.  Montgomery  Blair  the  State  of 
Maryland  was  represented  in  the  cabinet  of  President  Lincoln, 
but  we  know  that  the  secession  thugs  of  Baltimore  welcomed  the 
first  federal  troops  passing  through  there  in  April,  1861,  "with 
bloody  hands  to  a  hospitable  grave/'  and  lower  Maryland,  which 
would  mean  all  of  the  state  south  of  Washington  City,  was  a 
seething  hotbed  of  disloyalty  to  the  Union.  The  state  did  not  pass 
the  ordinance  of  secession,  not  perhaps  because  her  lawmakers 
did  not  wish  to,  but  for  the  reason  that  Union  troops  were  located 
at  nearly  all  points  within  her  borders.  The  Fugitive  Slave  Law 
was  still  in  force  and  she  was  protected  in  her  slave  property,  and 
her  disloyal  population  was  arrogant  in  its  defiance  and  contempt 
of  the  federal  authorities.  Parties  going  south  into  the  confed 
erate  lines,  or  coming  north  from  rebel  territory,  reaching  this 
lower  Maryland  country,  found  a  protector  and  helper  in  every 
resident,  and  the  slave  population,  which  seemed  to  realize  that 
their  days  of  bondage  were  nearing  the  end,  was  the  only  draw 
back  to  this  being  a  land  of  perfect  safety  for  those  who  were 
hostile  and  doing  all  they  could  against  their  government. 

Wherever  the  Union  troops  marched  and  fought  on  Southern 
soil  and  where  the  institution  of  slavery  existed,  they  found  in  the 
slaves  themselves  trustworthy  friends  upon  whom  they  could  rely 
for  much  valuable  information  as  to  existing  conditions,  and  this 
was  particularly  so  in  lower  Maryland  during  the  first  winter  of 
the  war  of  the  rebellion.  Leonardtown,  the  county  seat  of  St. 
Marys  county,  was  the  central  point  of  active  rebel  operations 
within  the  federal  lines,  and  these  operations  were  much  confused 
and  finally  almost  completely  broken  up  by  the  assistance  of  the 


16  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

slave  population  in  the  shape  of  the  information  they  were  con 
stantly  furnishing  to  the  federal  authorities;  and  when  the  com 
panies  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  that  had  wintered  in  their 
community  were,  in  March,  1862,  recalled  to  the  camp  of  the 
regiment  at  Budds  Ferry,  where  it  was  a  part  of  General  Hooker's 
division  which  lay  along  the  Potomac  at  that  point,  it  was  con 
fronted  by  a  division  of  confederates  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the 
river,  which  had  artillery  planted  on  the  bluffs  to  command  the 
river  at  that  point,  and  from  which  it  frequently  shelled  passing 
United  States  vessels,  and  at  times  varied  this  work  by  throwing 
shells  at  random  into  General  Hooker's  camp,  to  which  he  re 
sponded  with  his  batteries. 

When  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  under  General  McClellan  left 
the  defenses  of  Washington,  to  begin  the  Chickahominy  campaign 
of  1862  at  Norfolk,  Virginia,  all  the  troops  of  Hooker's  division 
at  Budds  Ferry,  save  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  joined  in  the 
movement,  and  this  left  the  cavalry  in  charge  of  the  camps  until 
March  24,  1862,  when  the  battalion  was  ordered  to  Washing 
ton;  and  on  May  24,  1862,  they  were  ordered  to  Thoroughfare 
Gap,  where  General  Geary  was  posted  with  a  division  of  troops 
watching  the  operations  of  Gen.  Stonewall  Jackson  in  the  Shenan- 
doah  Valley.  General  Geary  at  once  availed  himself  of  the  ser 
vices  of  the  Third  Indiana,  which  was  the  only  cavalry  at  his  dis 
posal,  and  from  that  time  on  the  battalion  was  actively  engaged  in 
scouting  in  advance  of  General  Geary's  division,  going  to  Front 
Royal  and  near  Winchester,  where  Jackson  had  maintained  his 
headquarters  after  driving  General  Milroy  out  of  the  valley.  Early 
in  June,  1862,  General  Shields'  division  of  Fremont's  army  had 
met  Jackson's  troops  at  Port  Republic,  been  worsted  and  retreated 
to  Luray,  at  which  point  the  battalion  joined  General  Shields  and 
formed  his  rear  guard  as  he  fell  back  to  Front  Royal,  and  was  with 
him  as  he  continued  his  march  to  Catletts  Station,  on  the  Orange 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  17 

&  Alexandria  railroad,  where  he  was  relieved  of  command  in  the 
field  and  sent  to  the  Pacific  coast. 

From  this  point  the  battalion  crossed  the  country  to  Falmouth, 
Virginia,  opposite  Fredricksburg,  on  the  Rappahannock  river, 
where  it  joined  the  division  of  Gen.  Rufus  King,  which  was  a  part 
of  General  Burnside's  command,  and  was  here  some  weeks  scout 
ing  over  the  territory  lying  between  Fredricksburg  and  Rich 
mond.  This  territory  was  apparently  common  to  the  cavalry  of 
both  the  North  and  the  South,  as  it  was  no  uncommon  occurrence 
for  them  to  encounter  each  other  during  scouting  expeditions,  and 
several  brisk  engagements  took  place  at  different  points. 

In  Volume  XII,  Part  2,  page  102,  Col.  J.  Kilpatrick,  later 
famous  in  the  cavalry  annals  of  the  war,  gives  an  official  account 
of  one  of  these  encounters  with  the  enemy  on  the  22d  of  July, 
1862,  near  Carmel  Church,  south  of  the  Massaponax  river,  in 
Caroline  county,  his  command  being  made  up  of  390  men  from 
the  Second  New  York  (Harris5  Light)  Cavalry,  Third  Indiana 
Cavalry  and  Fourteenth  Brooklyn.  Colonel  Kilpatrick  says:  "I 
reconnoitered  the  enemy's  camp.  We  occupied  a  good  position  on 
a  hill  gently  sloping  towards  the  river,  a  fine  position  for  a  cavalry 
fight,  and  I  at  once  determined  to  attack  him.  I  directed  Major 
Davies  to  deploy  the  carbineers  of  the  Harris  Light  Cavalry  as 
skirmishers  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  road  and  Major  Chapman 
(Third  Indiana)  to  proceed  up  the  road  in  column  of  platoons 
to  charge.  Major  Davies  advanced  rapidly  with  his  skirmishers, 
gaining  ground  to  the  right  for  the  purpose  of  flanking  the  enemy, 
drawing  his  skirmishers  back  and  beyond  his  column  in  the  road. 
Major  Chapman,  seeing  that  this  column  was  about  to  return, 
charged  most  gallantly,  routed  and  pursued  the  enemy  to  within 
sight  of  Hanover  Junction,  nearly  five  miles,  destroyed  the  camp 
and  tents  and  burned  the  stores  and  seven  carloads  of  grain.  Sud 
denly  and  unexpectedly  a  large  force  of  cavalry  (afterwards  found 
to  be  Stewart's)  came  down  on  our  right.  I  ordered  up  the  re- 


18  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

serves,  and  the  enemy,  although  greatly  outnumbering  our  tired 
and  worn-out  soldiers,  was  promptly  met  by  Majors  Davies  and 
Chapman  and  forced  back  in  great  confusion  far  behind  the  fire 
of  Captain  Walter's  carbineers.  Major  Chapman  and  his  whole 
command  promptly  obeyed  every  order,  and  charged  most  gal- 
lanty.  Braver  and  more  eager  men  never  met  the  enemy." 

At  page  122  of  the  same  volume,  Brig.-Gen.  John  Gibbons  fur 
nishes  Gen.  Rufus  King  with  his  official  account  of  his  trip  down 
the  Telegraph  road  in  the  direction  of  Richmond  on  the  5th  of 
August,  1862,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  Virginia  Central 
railroad.  He  says :  "I  proceeded  out  the  Telegraph  road  with  the 
Second  and  Seventh  Wisconsin,  the  Nineteenth  Indiana,  the  Third 
Indiana  Cavalry  and  Monroe's  (Rhode  Island)  Battery.  At 
Thornburg,  fifteen  miles  out,  the  cavalry  in  advance  was  fired 
upon  by  a  six-pounder  gun  and  driven  back  by  a  cavalry  force, 
whose  advance  was  stopped  by  a  few  shots  from  our  skirmishers 
and  four  or  five  shots  from  Monroe's  guns.  The  day  was  so  in 
tensely  hot  that  I  was  unable  to  proceed  further.  The  next  day 
the  march  was  resumed,  and  after  marching  seven  miles  learned 
that  General  Stewart,  with  a  larger  force  than  my  own,  was 
moving  up  the  Bowling  Green  road.  All  prospect  of  surprising 
the  enemy  at  the  railroad  was  given  up ;  and,  owing  to  the  intense 
heat,  I  decided  to  return  to  camp,  first  sending  a  part  of  the 
cavalry  to  our  right  to  get  in  on  the  rear  of  a  party  reported  to  be 
there  by  a  cavalry  picket  I  had  sent  on  that  road  in  the  morning. 
I  also  sent  a  company  of  cavalry  across  to  examine  the  Bowling 
Green  road.  Just  before  reaching  our  camp  of  the  night  before 
the  enemy's  guns  were  heard  in  our  rear,  and  I  pushed  forward 
and  reported  to  General  Hatch." 

In  this  movement  a  considerable  force  of  Stewart's  cavalry  was 
encountered  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle,  and  the  Third  Indiana 
Cavalry  and  Monroe's  Battery  were  sent  forward  to  engage  them, 
"but,"  says  Captain  Monroe  (page  126),  "the  enemy  fell  back 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  19 

most  hurriedly,  followed  by  our  cavalry  and  the  battery,  and  we 
kept  up  the  chase  for  two  hours  and  a  half,  until  nightfall,  when 
we  went  into  camp  on  the  Massaponax  river."  In  this  engagement 
Marmaduke  Green,  of  Company  D,  Third  Indiana,  was  killed, 
he  being  the  first  man  killed  in  action  in  our  regiment. 

While  performing  this  duty  Captain  Carland  and  Lieutenant 
Powers,  of  Company  F,  and  Captain  Keister,  of  Company  D, 
resigned  and  returned  home.  Lieutenant  Henry  F.  Wright  was 
made  captain  of  Company  D  and  Lieut.  T.  W.  Moffitt  was  made 
captain  of  Company  F. 

In  July,  1862,  while  scouting  with  twenty-five  of  his  men,  twelve 
miles  south  of  Fredricksburg,  at  the  farm  of  Dr.  Flippo,  Captain 
Moffitt  was  attacked  by  a  superior  force  of  rebel  cavalry,  also 
scouting  in  that  section  of  the  country,  and  with  part  of  his  com 
mand  Captain  Moffitt  was  captured  and  taken  to  Richmond.  In 
the  fight  Sergt.  William  M.  Gwinn  was  seriously  wounded,  and, 
after  being  paroled  by  his  captors,  was  left  at  the  home  of  Dr. 
Flippo,  where  he  was  kindly  nursed  for  several  weeks  until  able  to 
be  removed.  Being  on  parole,  after  he  was  sent  within  our  lines,  he 
was  discharged  and  sent  home,  a  cripple  for  life. 

In  these  summer  days  of  1862  this  old  Virginia  country  is 
recalled  with  much  interest  by  the  writer.  Between  Fredricks 
burg  and  Richmond,  connected  by  rail,  were  some  of  the  finest 
farms  and  farm  homes  in  the  state,  and  the  institution  of  slavery, 
which  had  flourished  here  from  the  days  when  Virginia  was  a 
colony  and  to  the  time  of  our  advent  had  been  undisturbed;  but 
apparently  the  moment  the  section  was  invaded  by  federal  troops 
the  institution  of  slavery  began  to  interest  itself  in  the  subject  of 
its  own  freedom,  and  in  a  short  time  many  of  the  old-time  planta 
tions  were  denuded  of  their  slaves,  who  embraced  every  oppor 
tunity  to  escape  to  the  federal  lines  and  camps  north  of  the  Rap- 
pahannock.  Often  at  midnight  old  and  trusted  slaves  on  these 
plantations  would  hitch  up  the  family  carriage,  loading  in  all  the 


20  HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

children  and  connection  it  was  possible  to  carry,  and  would  strike 
out  towards  the  unknown  in  the  night  time,  followed  by  others  on 
foot  carrying  their  earthly  belongings  in  sacks  and  pillow  slips  on 
their  heads,  and  by  daylight  would  be  well  on  their  way  to  the 
fabled  land  of  the  free.  Frequently  they  would  be  followed  by 
their  old  masters  or  some  member  of  the  family,  but  they  were 
seldom  overtaken  until  safe  within  our  lines  and  the  power  of 
slavery  was  broken;  but  some  of  these  interviews  between  old 
masters  and  old  slaves,  one  begging  the  other  to  return  to  the  old 
home,  were  pathetic  indeed.  Scarcely  any  of  these  slaves  had  ever 
known  anything  but  slavery,  and  perhaps  in  many  instances  their 
treatment  had  not  been  harsh,  but  instinctively  they  seemed  to 
know  from  observation  that  their  lives  were  different  from  the 
lives  of  the  masters,  that  one  was  property  and  the  other  was  not, 
that  one  ruled  and  the  other  obeyed,  and  they  seemed  to  have  a 
vague  idea  that  the  antipode  of  slavery  was  to  make  the  slave  the 
equal  of  his  master,  and  it  was  seldom  the  pursuing  master  was 
able  to  induce  his  escaped  chattel  to  return  to  the  plantation.  He 
was  at  times  fortunate  enough  to  recover  the  family  carriage  and 
horses  in  some  federal  camp,  and  perhaps  permitted  by  the  officers 
in  command  to  drive  it  back  to  the  old  plantation.  Bowling  Green, 
the  county  seat  of  Caroline  county,  midway  between  Fredricks- 
burg  and  Richmond,  was  in  the  midst  of  a  thriving  section  of 
country  and  was  an  active  part  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

Fredricksburg,  located  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Rappahannock, 
in  a  beautiful  valley  of  that  river,  was  a  compactly  brick-built, 
little  old  city  of  historic  interest.  A  few  miles  below  the  city  on 
the  peninsula  formed  by  the  Potomac  and  Rappahannock,  George 
Washington  was  born  on  a  plantation;  in  Fredricksburg  he  had 
his  first  office  as  a  land  surveyor ;  and  upon  a  little  hillock  overlook 
ing  the  city  was  buried  Martha  Washington,  the  mother  of  the 
Father  of  His  Country,  her  resting  place  being  marked  by  a 
granite  block  ten  feet  high  by  eight  feet  square,  which  we  passed 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  21 

daily.  The  road  winding  up  the  hill  by  this  monument  passed 
over  Maryes  Heights,  where,  in  December  following,  General 
Lee's  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  was  posted,  and  fought  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  under  General  Burnsides,  with  such  dis 
astrous  results  to  the  Union  cause. 

While  the  battalion  had  its  camp  and  performed  service  in  this 
historic  section  of  the  country  the  scene  of  conflict  in  Virginia 
was  shifted.  After  many  fierce  conflicts  from  Norfolk  up  through 
the  swamps  of  the  Chickahominy  in  an  effort  to  reach  Richmond, 
General  McClellan  with  his  magnificent  army  was  compelled  to 
fall  back  upon  his  base  of  supplies  at  Harrisons  Landing,  on  the 
James  river.  This  seems  to  have  been  foreseen  by  the  authorities 
at  Washington,  and  in  June,  1862,  the  formation  of  a  new  army 
in  front  of  the  defenses  of  Washington,  in  Virginia,  was  begun 
under  the  command  of  General  John  Pope,  who  had  rendered 
conspicuous  service  in  the  West,  and  particularly  at  Island  No.  10, 
on  the  Mississippi  river,  and  at  Corinth.  All  troops  in  front  of 
Washington  and  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  were  placed  at  the  dis 
posal  of  General  Pope,  and  in  taking  command  of  this  new  army 
its  commander  in  a  bombastic  proclamation  announced  that  he  had 
established  his  "headquarters  in  the  saddle,"  which  was  evidently 
an  unwise  thing  to  announce,  even  if  it  was  the  proper  thing  to  do. 
The  country  was  flooded  with  ambitious  young  army  officers, 
graduates  of  West  Point,  all  of  whom  were  impressed  with  their 
capacity  for  command,  and  when  General  Pope,  suddenly  pro 
moted  from  a  subordinate  position  to  this  new  and  exalted  com 
mand,  went  about  his  work  with  what  might  be  termed  a  grand 
flourish  that  savored  of  a  feeling  of  self-sufficiency  on  his  part, 
his  brother  officers  were  disposed  to  fold  their  hands,  "look  and 
listen." 

But  soon  after  he  took  command  there  was  something  doing. 
General  Rufus  King's  division,  to  which  the  eastern  battalion  was 
attached,  and  which  lay  in  camp  around  Falmouth,  was  ordered  to 


22  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

join  Pope,  and  at  once  moved  up  the  Rappahannock,  leaving  the 
cavalry  to  guard  government  stores  at  Falmouth;  and  in  a  very 
few  days  thereafter  was  in  the  thick  of  the  bloody  battle  of 
Slaughter  Mountain,  where,  after  two  days'  fighting,  the  Union 
troops  were  compelled  to  fall  back  with  General  Siegel's  division 
bringing  up  the  rear,  and  General  Lee's  army  heading  northward, 
constantly  crowding  him.  There  was  daily  fighting  between  the 
advancing  confederates  and  retreating  federals,  and  the  roar  of 
cannon  heard  in  our  camps  and  on  the  picket  post  we  occupied  told 
us  the  conflict  was  moving  northward.  We  were  right  in  our  con 
jectures.  Pope's  army  was  on  the  retreat,  and  made  its  first  grand 
stand  on  the  plains  of  Manassas,  where  were  fought  the  series  of 
bloody  engagements  known  in  history  as  the  Second  Battle  of  Bull 
Run.  Pope  with  his  own  army  and  supported  by  a  part  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  sent  too  late  to  help  him  much,  was  de 
feated,  and  that  general's  meteoric  career  came  to  an  end  in  less 
than  six  weeks.  His  army  and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  were 
within  and  behind  the  defenses  of  Washington,  including  the 
battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  which  had  been  the  last 
body  of  troops  to  evacuate  Fredricksburg,  when  General  Burn- 
sides,  the  last  commander  there,  had  been  ordered  to  destroy  all 
government  stores  at  that  point  and  fall  back  on  Washington. 
That  city  when  we  reached  it  was  one  vast  hospital  over  which 
seemed  to  hang  the  gloom  of  defeat.  Between  the  first  of  March 
and  September,  1862,  two  great  armies  had  gone  out  from  that 
city  under  petted  commanders  to  meet  the  enemy  in  the  field,  and, 
after  many  fierce  encounters  and  the  loss  of  thousands  of  brave 
men,  these  armies  with  their  trailing  banners  and  with  broken 
ranks,  were  back  on  the  ground  where  they  were  equipped,  and  from 
whence  they  had  started  six  months  before;  while  the  victorious 
enemy  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Potomac  seemed  to  flaunt  defiance 
at  the  Capital  of  his  country  ere  he  swooped  down  and  made  it  his 
prey.  And  it  looked  little  better  in  the  West.  Shiloh  and  Corinth, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  23 

Pea  Ridge,  Fort  Donelson  and  Fort  Henry  had  been  fought,  but 
while  the  armies  that  had  operated  in  Virginia  were  within  the 
defenses  of  Washington,  our  Western  armies  that  had  penetrated 
Mississippi  were  back  on  Kentucky  soil  to  confront  Bragg,  who 
was  threatening  to  cross  the  Ohio  river  and  invade  the  North. 
This  was  the  situation  on  the  first  day  of  September,  1862,  and 
it  looked  to  those  who  loved  and  had  fought  for  their  country  that 
"the  melancholy  days  had  come." 

But  it  was  an  hour  that  demanded  prompt  decision  on  the  part 
of  the  authorities.  The  vanguard  of  the  confederate  army  crossed 
the  Potomac  a  few  miles  above  Washington  and  the  invasion  of 
the  North  had  begun.  Lee's  cavalry,  under  their  daring  leader, 
Stewart,  approached  the  northern  defenses  of  the  Capital.  Stone 
wall  Jackson  swept  up  through  the  Shenandoah  Valley  with  Har 
pers  Ferry  and  Maryland  Heights  as  his  objective,  where  General 
Miles,  with  thirteen  thousand  men,  was  entrenched. 

The  reorganization  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  effected 
without  delay,  with  General  McCellan  in  command,  and  moved 
northward  through  Maryland,  with  a  cavalry  corps  under  Gen. 
Alfred  Pleasanton  in  advance.  With  the  advance  of  this  cavalry 
was  the  battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana,  now  for  the  first  time 
brigaded  with  the  Eighth  Illinois,  Eighth  New  York,  Sixth  and 
Eighth  Pennsylvania  regiments  of  cavalry,  and  destined  to  be 
associated  with  the  first  two  named  regiments  during  the  re 
mainder  of  its  career  in  the  army.  Lee's  army  had  crossed  the 
Potomac  and  was  in  Maryland.  The  advance  cavalry  of  Mc- 
Clellan's  army  was  engaged  in  daily  skirmishes  with  the  cavalry 
of  the  enemy  on  Maryland  soil.  They  fought  a  sharp  engagement 
at  Poolesville,  where  several  men  of  the  Eighth  Illinois  and  Third 
Indiana  were  killed.  Stonewall  Jackson  occupied  Fredrick  for 
a  day  and  then  moved  on  Harpers  Ferry.  The  Eighth  Illinois 
and  Jackson's  rear  guard  had  a  bloody  encounter  in  the  streets 
of  Fredrick  on  the  12th  of  September,  as  well  as  at  Sugar  Loaf 


24  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

Mountain.  We  camped  in  that  beautiful  little  city  of  the  moun 
tains  on  the  night  of  the  12th,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  13th, 
at  sunrise,  the  Third  Indiana  in  advance,  moved  out  on  the  Na 
tional  road  crossing  Catoctin  Mountain.  A  mile  from  our  camp 
of  the  night  before  the  enemy  was  in  these  mountains  waiting  for 
us.  They  greeted  us  with  a  battery  posted  in  a  mountain  pass. 

The  Third  Indiana  counted  off  by  fours  and  the  dismounted 
men  crawled  up  the  mountainside  through  bushes  and  over  stone 
fences,  and  soon  made  it  too  hot  for  that  battery  to  operate.  In 
this  fight  Oliver  H.  Trestor,  of  Company  D,  was  killed  as  he 
leaped  a  stone  wall  right  into  a  bunch  of  confederates  in  hiding 
behind  it.  The  confederate  battery  with  its  supporting  cavalry 
limbered  to  the  rear  and  broke  in  a  wild  flight  down  the  National 
road  across  the  Middletown  Valley  pursued  by  the  Third  Indiana 
and  Eighth  Illinois  into  the  village  of  Middletown,  where  we  re 
ceived  the  fire  of  a  battery  from  Turners  Pass,  which  turned  out 
to  be  the  headquarters  of  General  Lee,  and  where  he  had  halted 
to  fight  the  battle  of  South  Mountain. 

Of  these  affairs  Brig. -Gen.  Alfred  Pleasanton,  commanding 
Cavalry  Division,  reporting  operations  from  September  4  to  19, 
at  page  208,  Part  2,  Vol.  XIX,  says : 

»  "On  the  7th  instant  two  squadrons  of  the  Eighth  Illinois  and  two 
of  the  Third  Indiana,  under  Major  Chapman,  of  the  Third  In 
diana,  made  a  dash  on  Poolesville  and  captured  two  cavalry 
videttes,  all  of  the  enemy  in  the  town  at  the  time.  The  next  day, 
the  8th  instant,  Colonel  Farnsworth  moved  his  command — the 
Eighth  Illinois,  Third  Indiana,  section  of  horse  artillery  of  Com 
pany  M,  Second  Artillery,  under  First  Lieutenant  Chapin — to 
occupy  Poolesville,  and  picket  the  roads  to  Conrads  Ferry,  Ed 
wards  Ferry,  Barnesville  and  the  Monocacy.  As  his  force  neared 
Poolesville,  the  enemy  was  observed  retreating  on  the  road  leading 
to  Barnesville,  and  some  squadrons  of  the  Third  Indiana  pushed 
after  them.  They  had  not  proceeded  far  before  the  enemy  opened 


LIEUTENANT-COLONEL  ROBERT   KLEIN. 


HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  25 

a  fire  from  some  guns  strongly  posted  on  the  right  of  the  town. 
The  section  of  artillery  under  Lieutenant  Chapin  soon  silenced 
these  guns,  which  made  off  in  the  direction  of  Barnesville.  * 

aThe  squadrons  of  the  Third  Indiana,  under  Major  Chapman, 
were  now  ordered  to  charge  the  battery,  which  was  handsomely 
done,  the  enemy's  cavalry  and  artillery  being  driven  over  three 
miles.  The  Eighth  Illinois  coming  up,  under  Major  Medill,  the 
chase  was  continued  until  after  dark. 

"In  this  affair  the  Third  Indiana  lost  one  man  killed  and  eleven 
wounded,  the  Eighth  Illinois  one  wounded.  The  rebel  loss  amount 
ed  to  eight  killed,  sixteen  wounded  and  six  prisoners — all  cavalry. 
On  the  morning  of  the  13th  instant,  with  the  remainder  of  my 
command,  I  started  at  daylight  on  the  Hagerstown  turnpike  and 
had  proceeded  some  three  or  four  miles  when  the  enemy  opened 
upon  the  advance  with  artillery  from  the  ridge  to  the  left,  where 
the  road  passes  over  the  Catoctin  range  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Their 
batteries  were  supported  by  dismounted  cavalry.  A  couple  of  sec 
tions  of  Robertson's  and  Haines'  batteries  immediately  opened  on 
our  side,  and  some  squadrons  of  the  Eighth  Illinois  and  Third 
Indiana  were  dismounted  and  sent  up  the  mountain  to  the  right 
as  skirmishers.  After  a  severe  cannonading  and  several  warm  vol 
leys  with  carbines,  the  enemy  hastily  retreated,  having  previously 
barricaded  the  road  in  several  places.  A  rapid  pursuit  was  made 
and  a  number  of  prisoners  taken,  when  the  enemy  made  a  second 
stand  on  the  west  side  of  Middletown.  Gibson's  battery  then  came 
up  and  soon,  in  beautiful  style,  induced  another  backward  move 
ment" 

As  the  cavalry  dashed  into  Middletown  two  companies  of  the 
Eighth  Illinois  and  two  companies  of  the  Third  Indiana,  E  and  F, 
were  detached  and  directed  to  pursue  a  rebel  wagon  train,  which 
the  citizens  of  the  town  told  us  had  gone  southward  down  the 
valley.  This  detachment  after  a  hot  pursuit  came  in  sight  of  the 
wagon  train  as  it  was  slowly  winding  its  way  up  a  mountain  road, 


26  HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

but  in  its  rear  was  a  battery  of  brass  guns  and  enough  rebel  cavalry 
to  have  swallowed  the  pursuing  force. 

The  detachment  was  satisfied  with  observation  and  decided  that 
it  did  not  want  that  wagon  train  anyhow,  and  started  to  return  to 
the  command  which  it  had  left  at  Middletown  by  a  short  cut  down 
a  winding  stony  ravine,  hemmed  in  on  either  side  by  a  very  crooked 
worm  fence,  so  that  this  particular  route  answered  for  the  channel 
of  a  stream  and  a  country  road  at  the  same  time.  Quebeck  school- 
house  stood  at  the  head  of  this  ravine,  and  just  as  Company  F  of 
the  Third  Indiana,  the  rear  company  of  the  detachment,  had 
entered  the  ravine  Cobb's  Legion  of  rebel  cavalry,  commanded  by 
Col.  P.  M.  B.  Young,  dashed  down  the  mountainside  past  the 
schoolhouse,  charging  us  with  sabers  and  pistols,  and  for  a  few 
minutes  a  desperate  little  cavalry  battle  ensued. 

The  column  halted  and  fired  an  oblique  volley  into  the  charging 
rebels  and  then  the  clash  came  and  Yankees  and  rebels,  horsed  and 
unhorsed,  mingled,  indiscriminately  shooting  at  each  other  and 
using  their  sabers  in  the  same  reckless  manner,  until  the  men  at 
the  head  of  the  column  tore  down  the  fence  on  the  side  of  the 
ravine  next  to  the  attacking  force  and  went  at  them  in  such 
splendid  style  that  it  was  soon  too  hot  for  the  rebels  and  they  gave 
way,  dashing  back  over  the  hill  from  whence  they  came,  leaving  us 
in  possession  of  the  field  and  their  dead  and  wounded. 

In  this  little  cavalry  battle  Corp.  James  H.  Williamson,  of 
Company  F,  Third  Indiana,  was  killed  by  having  his  head  crushed 
with  a  saber  in  the  hands  of  a  rebel;  Sergt.  Joseph  Lewis,  Com 
pany  E,  same  regiment,  was  shot  through  the  heart  and  lay  across 
a  rebel  sergeant  also  shot  through  the  heart.  John  Grubbs, 
William  Hinds,  Corporal  Sheiverbein  and  John  Childs,  of  the 
former  company,  were  badly  hacked  about  their  heads  with 
rebel  sabers,  and  Samuel  Cross,  of  the  latter  company,  was  shot 
through  the  lungs,  but  recovered.  Four  men  of  Company  F,  Third 
Indiana,  were  captured  but  returned  next  day  paroled.  The  loss 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  27 

to  the  companies  of  the  Eighth  Illinois  was  about  the  same  as  those 
of  the  Third  Indiana,  but  we  have  no  accurate  information  on 
that  point. 

A  remarkable  thing  connected  with  this  vigorous  cavalry  fight 
is  that  General  Pleasanton,  commanding  all  the  cavalry  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  in  this  Maryland  campaign,  in  his  report 
made  in  camp  near  Sharpsburg  and  dated  September  19,  1862, 
and  which  was  intended  to  cover  the  operations  of  the  cavalry 
from  September  4  to  September  19,  inclusive,  does  not  mention 
this  engagement  at  all.  He  does  mention  many  things  which 
many  of  us  remember  as  of  far  less  importance,  but  regarding  this 
engagement  he  is  silent.  His  report  is  found  beginning  at  page 
208  of  Series  I,  Vol.  XIX,  Part  1,  Keports  (War  of  the  Kebellion 
Official  Eecords  of  the  Union  and  Confederate  Armies).  And 
what  is  equally  singular,  at  page  824  of  the  same  volume  we  find 
a  substantially  accurate  report  of  our  operations  on  September  13, 
1862,  signed  by  Wade  Hampton,  brigadier-general,  and  Major 
Fitzhue,  assistant  adjutant-general,  both  distinguished  rebel 
officers.  General  Hampton  says : 

"At  daylight  on  the  morning  of  September  13  the  enemy  made 
his  appearance  and  attempted  to  force  his  way  across  the  moun 
tain.  His  advance  guard  being  driven  back,  he  planted  a  battery 
on  the  pike  and  opened  fire  on  Lieutenant-Colonel  Martin.  Capt. 
J.  F.  Hart  with  a  section  of  rifled  guns  had  been  sent  to  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Martin,  and  he  returned  the  fire  with  good  effect, 
forcing  the  enemy  to  change  his  position  more  than  once.  In  the 
meantime  skirmishers  on  both  sides  had  become  actively  engaged 
and  the  fight  was  kept  up  until  2  p.  m.,  when  the  enemy,  gaining 
a  position  which  commanded  Hart's  guns  as  well  as  the  road,  I 
ordered  the  guns  withdrawn  and  placed  in  position  near  Middle- 
town.  The  brigade  then  took  position  in  the  rear  of  them,  wait 
ing  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  who  appeared  in  force  crossing  the 
mountain.  A  brisk  artillery  fire  took  place  on  both  sides,  and  the 


28  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

sharpshooters  of  the  two  forces  also  became  engaged.  Having  held 
the  enemy  in  check  sufficiently  long  to  accomplish  the  object  de 
sired  by  General  Stewart,  I  was  directed  by  him  to  withdraw  my 
command  in  the  direction  of  Burkittsville,  sending  my  guns  and 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Martin's  command  on  to  Boonsborough. 

"The  First  North  Carolina  Regiment,  under  command  of  Col. 
Baker,  was  the  rear  guard  of  the  brigade  during  the  fight  at  Mid- 
dletown,  and  both  officers  and  men  conducted  themselves  to  my 
perfect  satisfaction.  They  were  exposed  to  a  severe  fire,  artillery 
and  musketry,  which  they  bore  without  flinching,  nor  was  there 
the  slightest  confusion  in  the  ranks.  They  lost  eight  wounded  and 
three  missing.  Captain  Siler,  a  gallant  officer,  was  among  the 
wounded,  having  his  leg  broken.  He  was  brought  off,  but,  as  his 
wound  became  painful,  he  was  left  at  Boonsborough. 

"Before  leaving  this  part  of  my  report,  I  beg  to  commend  the 
conduct  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Martin  and  his  command  while  he 
held  the  gap  of  the  mountain.  The  men  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Martin  fought  with  their  accustomed  gallantry,  and  they  were  ably 
supported  by  a  portion  of  the  North  Carolina  Regiment,  who  had 
been  detailed  as  sharpshooters.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Martin  on 
this  occasion,  as  on  all  others,  conducted  himself  as  a  gallant  and 
able  officer. 

"After  withdrawing  the  brigade  from  Middletown,  I  proceeded 
towards  Burkittsville,  where  I  expected  to  form  a  junction  with 
Colonel  Munford.  On  the  road  to  this  place  I  discovered,  on  a 
road  parallel  to  the  one  on  which  we  were,  a  regiment  of  Yankee 
cavalry.  Taking  the  Cobb  Legion  with  me,  I  directed  Lieut. -Col. 
Young  to  charge  this  regiment.  The  order  was  carried  out  in 
gallant  style,  the  legion  crossing  sabers  with  the  Yankees  and 
chasing  them  some  distance.  Five  prisoners  were  taken,  while  a 
published  account  of  the  Yankees  now  before  me  admits  the  loss  of 
thirty  killed  and  wounded.  The  prisoners  taken  belonged  to  the 
Third  Indiana  and  Eighth  Illinois. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  29 

"Lieutenant-Colonel  Young,  who  led  the  charge,  received  a 
painful  wound  in  the  leg,  and  Capt.  G.  J.  Wright,  whose  company 
was  in  the  advance,  was  wounded  in  the  arm.  Our  loss  was  four 
killed  and  nine  wounded.  Among  the  former  I  regret  to  have  to 
mention  Lieutenant  Marshall  and  Sergeant  Barksdale.  I  take 
pleasure  in  calling  attention  to  the  behavior  of  this  command. 
Colonel  Young  led  with  great  gallantry,  and,  after  his  fall,  Major 
Delony.  After  driving  this  cavalry,  I  moved  on  to  Burkittsville, 
where  we  remained  during  the  night  of  September  13." 

Thus  is  preserved  from  oblivion  an  account  of  a  fight  of  which 
the  men  engaged  were  ever  proud,  and  about  the  only  inaccuracy 
on  the  part  of  General  Hampton  is  that  the  cavalry  which  he  drove 
remained  on  the  field  while  his  command  left  it  in  short  order. 

During  the  night  following  this  day's  work  of  the  cavalry,  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  came  up,  and  on  the  next  day,  the  14th  of 
September,  1862,  was  fought,  on  the  eastern  slope  of  South  Moun 
tain  at  and  below  Turners  Pass,  the  battle  known  in  history  as  the 
battle  of  South  Mountain.  It  was  an  infantry  and  artillery  en 
gagement  in  which  the  cavalry  merely  supported  batteries,  the 
Third  Indiana  being  assigned  to  Battery  M,  Second  U.  S.  Artil 
lery,  and  met  with  no  casualties. 

In  this  battle  one  thousand  federals  and  fourteen  hundred  rebels 
were  killed  and  twice  as  many  wounded.  It  was  the  first  general 
engagement  in  which  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  had  participated 
and  showed  us  what  afterwards  proved  to  be  our  experience  that 
the  hard  work  and  real  fighting  of  the  cavalry  usually  preceded 
and  followed  the  great  battles  of  the  war,  and  that  in  the  fiercest 
shock  of  battle  the  services  of  cavalry  were  not  usually  available. 

From  the  mountainsides  the  rebel  guns  rained  their  iron  hail 
upon  the  advancing  Union  lines,  and  were  responded  to  by  the 
federal  guns  posted  upon  every  elevation  in  the  valley  below,  and 
in  our  presence  a  line  of  infantry  more  than  a  mile  long  moved 
slowly  up  the  mountainside  over  the  cleared  lands  to  the  timber's 


30  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

edge,  and  when  near  it  a  blaze  and  roar  burst  forth  from  that 
timber's  edge  very  much  like  a  mountain  crater. 

The  advancing  Union  line,  along  its  entire  length,  answered  with 
a  volley  and  yell  equally  as  terrific  and  never  wavered  in  its  for 
ward  movement.  The  battle  of  South  Mountain  was  on  in  all  its 
ferocity.  The  thunder  of  all  the  artillery  of  both  armies  echoed 
and  re-echoed  down  this  lovely  Middletown  Valley,  interspersed 
with  rolling  volleys  of  musketry  and  the  fierce  yells  of  desperate 
men  engaged  in  a  death  struggle. 

This  lasted  until  10  o'clock  at  night,  when  the  Union  troops  had 
gained  the  crest  of  the  mountain  and  Lee's  army  fell  back,  his  first 
battle  on  Maryland  soil  having  failed.  The  cavalry  moved  up  and 
stood  picket  on  the  mountain  summit  the  remainder  of  the  night 
and  at  dawn  moved  down  its  western  slope  and  was  soon  engaged 
in  a  fight  with  the  rebel  cavalry  rear  guard  at  Boonsborough  in  the 
next  valley  beyond.  From  this  point  the  Third  Indiana  had  the  ad 
vance  to  the  eastern  bank  of  Antietam  creek  overlooking  Sharps- 
burg,  where  the  rebel  army  had  halted.  With  all  the  army  the 
battalion  lay  upon  the  eastern  slopes  of  Antietam  creek  until  the 
morning  of  September  17,  when,  at  daylight,  was  begun  the  battle 
which  lasted  until  nightfall  and  in  which  more  men  were  killed 
and  wounded  on  both  sides  in  one  day  than  in  any  other  battle  of 
the  entire  war. 

The  Third  Indiana  crossed  Antietam  creek  with  Pleasanton's 
Cavalry  at  10  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  and  was  in  line  of  battle 
supporting  artillery,  but  was  not  otherwise  engaged  and  suffered 
no  casualties. 

On  the  night  of  September  19  Lee's  army  fell  back  across  the 
Potomac  at  Shephardstown,  and  the  cavalry  followed  up  and  was 
the  first  to  discover  and  run  upon  his  entrenchments  on  the  south 
side  of  the  river.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  lay  upon  this  battle 
field  recuperating  until  the  first  day  of  November,  1862,  but 
during  that  time  the  cavalry  was  not  idle  by  any  means.  It  crossed 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  31 

the  Potomac  a  number  of  times,  feeling  for  the  position  of  the 
enemy,  and  always  found  him  in  greater  or  less  force  and  had 
numerous  skirmishes.  One  of  these  encounters  at  Halltown  lasted 
a  good  part  of  one  day,  the  rebel  cavalry  making  a  desperate  effort 
to  capture  a  federal  battery  which  was  successfully  resisted  by  the 
Eighth  Illinois,  Eighth  New  York  and  Third  Indiana  throwing 
themselves  between  the  advancing  enemy  and  the  battery,  and  thus 
enabling  it  to  retire  safely  across  the  Potomac. 

While  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  lay  on  the  battlefield  of  An- 
tietam,  the  cavalry  of  the  rebel  army  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Han 
cock  and  made  a  plundering  raid  into  Pennsylvania,  going  as  far 
as  Chambersburg  and  passing  around  the  outposts  of  the  federal 
army,  pursued  by  all  the  cavalry  under  General  Pleasanton,  and 
in  which  pursuit  the  Third  Indiana  participated,  but  its  only  brush 
with  the  enemy,  after  a  sixty-mile  ride,  was  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Monocacy,  where  the  raiders  were  overtaken  while  attempting  to 
get  a  herd  of  cattle,  stolen  in  Pennsylvania,  across  the  Potomac. 
No  one  was  hurt,  but  some  very  fine  steers  intended  for  rebel  con 
sumption  were  recaptured. 

The  rebel  force,  with  whom  this  engagement  was  had,  was 
togged  out  in  complete  new  federal  uniforms,  which  they  had  cap 
tured  from  the  United  States  quartermaster  at  Chambersburg,  and 
were  mistaken  for  federal  cavalry  by  General  Pleasanton  until 
they  rode  up  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  where  he  had  stopped 
to  get  breakfast,  after  riding  thirty  hours,  and  opened  with  artil 
lery  upon  his  headquarters. 

The  most  momentous  event  of  the  war  occurred  while  the  Ariny 
of  the  Potomac  lay  on  the  battlefield  of  Antietam.  Of  course  this 
was  the  issuance  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  on  the  22d  of 
September,  1862,  by  the  President  of  the  United  States.  In  a  few 
days  thereafter  the  President  himself  came  to  Sharpsburg  and 
with  General  McClellan  reviewed  the  army,  riding  by  us  on  horse 
back  while  each  organization  of  troops  stood  at  present  arms.  The 


32  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  stood  in  line  but  a  few 
yards  from  the  famous  Dunkard  church,  where  the  slaughter  on 
the  17th  of  September  had  been  the  most  frightful  of  all  that  awful 
battle,  and  the  great,  sad-faced,  martyr  President  as  he  appeared 
before  us  there  is  not  likely  to  be  forgotten  while  life  and  memory 
remains  to  any  one  of  our  number. 

Through  this  Maryland  campaign  Lieutenant-Colonel  Buchanan 
had  been  in  command  of  the  eastern  battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana 
Cavalry.  On  the  24th  of  October,  1862,  he  resigned,  and  Major 
George  H.  Chapman  succeeded  to  the  vacant  command. 

The  great  and  bloody  battle  of  Antietam,  fought  in  and  around 
Sharpsburg,  Maryland,  on  the  17th  of  September,  1862,  has  right 
fully  gone  into  history  as  one  of  the  mighty  conflicts  of  the  war 
and  was  the  end  of  Lee's  Maryland  campaign  of  1862.  It  dem 
onstrated  also  to  the  authorities  at  Washington  that  the  time  had 
come  for  a  change  in  commanders  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

General  McClellan,  who  had  commanded  that  army  for  a  year, 
was  what  might  have  been  termed  the  pet  soldier  of  the  Republic. 
Under  his  command  the  army  had  fought  many  but  usually  unde 
cisive  battles.  Antietam  was  a  drawn  battle  and  settled  nothing. 
All  of  Lee's  rebel  army  was  engaged,  and  it  was  fought  piecemeal 
by  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  opening  on  the  right  at  daylight  with 
an  onslaught  by  Hooker's  right  wing,  and  running  down  the  line 
two  miles  to  the  left,  when  at  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Burnsides 
became  engaged  with  Stonewall  Jackson  and  fought  until  after 
dark.  In  the  rear  of  Burnsides'  position,  all  day  long,  lay  Gen. 
Fitz-John  Porter's  division,  the  best  and  finest  body  of  troops  in 
the  whole  army,  that  never  fired  a  gun. 

It  is  not  for  historians  to  fight  battles,  but  they  do  have  the 
right  to  draw  conclusions  from  facts.  The  humble  private  in  the 
ranks  looking  on  Burnsides'  conflict  with  Jackson  for  six  long 
hours  with  nothing  gained,  wondered  why  Fitz-John  Porter's 
splendid  body  of  splendidly  equipped  men,  and  only  a  mile  away, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  33 

was  not  sent  to  the  assistance  of  Burnsides.  It  was  spoken  of  in 
the  ranks  the  next  day  by  men  of  humble  station  as  the  two  armies 
still  lay  confronting  each  other. 

To  the  men  engaged  in  that  battle  it  looked  that,  had  Burnsides 
been  assisted  by  Porter's  division,  the  rebel  right  would  have  been 
doubled  around  on  to  its  left  with  serious  results.  As  it  was, 
Burnsides  was  able  to  hold  his  own.  With  double  and  more  than 
double  the  force  engaged  on  our  left,  would  not  Jackson  have  been 
swept  off  his  feet  ? 

From  that  day  General  McClellan,  who  always  provoked  cheers 
from  his  soldiers  when  he  appeared  before  them,  lost  caste  with 
the  army,  and  the  authorities  at  Washington  could  plainly  see  that 
the  time  was  close  at  hand  when  it  would  be  safe  to  do  what  they 
had  long  felt  should  be  done,  viz.,  change  the  head  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac. 

During  the  year  of  his  command  General  McClellan  had  built 
up  around  himself  a  great  and  formidable  personal  following,  and 
this  following  had  made  itself  felt  throughout  the  North,  espe 
cially  in  the  Eastern  and  New  England  States.  He  had  built  up 
this  following  by  the  diplomacy  which  flatterers  always  employ. 
He  sounded  the  praises  of  his  regiments  to  their  faces  on  the 
slightest  provocation,  and  the  plan  took  so  effectually  that  many 
of  the  objects  of  his  flattery  were  ever  ready  to  defend  and  con 
done  any  apparent  blunder  as  really  the  exploit  of  a  great  com 
mander.  This  cajoled  element  in  the  army  had  to  be  reckoned  with. 
They  were  ready  to  raise  the  cry  that  with  McClellan's  removal 
from  command  the  country  was  lost. 

The  leading  papers  of  the  country  were  ably  represented  by 
field  correspondents,  who  were  generally  found  clustered  around 
the  headquarters  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  reception 
they  always  received  from  the  head  of  the  army  made  them  ever 
ready  to  sound  his  praises  and  conceal  his  blunders,  and  when 
the  change  came  were  prompt  to  sound  a  doleful  cry  of  disasters 


34  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

sure  to  follow.  The  rank  and  file  of  the  army  was  represented  as 
ready  to  rise  in  mutiny  as  their  response  to  the  action  of  the 
government  at  Washington.  The  fact  was  that  no  such  feeling 
existed,  and  this  fact  was  detected  by  President  Lincoln,  and  he 
took  the  step  all  knew  was  right. 

After  the  first  spasm  of  the  flattered  alarmists  had  died  out  all 
went  on  as  well  as  it  had  in  this  great  army,  while  McClellan  went 
home  to  use  his  arts  of  flattery  in  scheming  for  the  presidential 
nomination  of  the  party  that  opposed  the  war,  and  the  leading 
declaration  of  his  platform  after  receiving  that  nomination  was 
that  the  "war  was  a  failure." 

The  impartial  verdict  of  history  is  that  McClellan,  and  not  the 
war,  was  a  failure.  And  this  was  the  verdict  of  the  voters  at  the 
ballot  box  in  November,  1864,  when  they  declared  for  a  con 
tinuance  in  power  of  the  great  and  patient  man  who  subsequently 
died  a  martyr  for  his  country. 

On  the  26th  of  October,  1862,  the  cavalry  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  left  Maryland  soil  and  recrossed  the  Potomac  river  at 
Berlin,  Maryland,  and  began  its  southward  movement  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Richmond.  Skirmishing  with  the  rebel  cavalry  began 
almost  at  once.  The  Third  Indiana  was  now  a  part  of  the  Second 
Brigade. 

General  Pleasanton  in  his  report  of  operations  at  this  time 
(Vol.  XIX,  Part  2,  page  125)  says:  aOn  November  1  the  com 
mand  moved  forward  and  occupied  Philomont,  several  hundred 
of  Stewart's  cavalry  leaving  about  the  time  we  entered.  Colonel 
Gregg,  with  the  Eighth  Pennsylvania  and  Third  Indiana  Cavalry, 
pursued  this  cavalry  and  drove  it  very  handsomely  from  some 
woods  it  had  attempted  to  hold,  but,  the  enemy  bringing  up  his 
artillery,  no  further  advance  was  made,  except  to  silence  the  rebel 
guns  by  the  fire  of  Pennington's  battery.  The  rebels  left  five 
dead  on  the  field.  Our  loss  was  one  killed,  and  one  officer  and 
thirteen  men  wounded. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  35 

"On  November  2  my  advance  came  up  with  the  enemy  at  Union. 
They  had  some  infantry  supporting  their  guns  and  very  soon  some 
sharp  fighting  began,  which  resulted  in  the  blowing  up  of  one  of 
their  caissons,  by  which  a  number  of  their  men  were  killed,  and 
their  retreat  for  several  miles  on  the  road  to  Upperville." 

The  report  of  Col.  David  McM.  Gregg,  Eighth  Pennsylvania, 
of  the  affair  at  Philomont  is  also  found  at  page  129  of  the  same 
volume. 

The  Third  Indiana  and  Eighth  Illinois  were  on  the  ground 
where  the  caisson  blew  up,  to  which  General  Pleasanton  refers, 
almost  before  the  smoke  had  cleared  away,  in  their  pursuit  of  the 
rebels  flying  towards  Upperville,  but  all  we  found  were  splinters, 
broken  wheels,  artillerymen's  caps  and  clothing,  but  no  carcasses. 

This  Virginia  country  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge  mountains  was 
traversed  by  splendid  turnpike  roads,  walled  on  either  side  by 
stone  fences,  and  winding  over  hills  and  through  valleys,  and  was 
a  lovely  land  to  look  upon.  Stewart's  cavalry  was  the  rear  guard 
of  the  rebel  army  and  was  contesting  every  step  of  the  advance  of 
the  federal  cavalry  under  Pleasanton.  On  November  5  we  en 
countered  them  at  Barbes  Cross  Roads,  where  we  lost  five  killed  and 
eight  wounded.  On  the  6th  we  ran  on  to  them  again  at  Waterloo, 
and  on  the  7th  at  Amosville  and  Little  Washington,  and  in  that 
action  captured  two  guns,  also  three  officers  and  ten  men.  On  the 
8th  we  skirmished  at  Newbys  Cross  Roads,  on  the  9th  at  Corbins 
Cross  Roads,  and  on  the  10th  the  rebels,  both  infantry  and  cavalry, 
from  Culpepper  attacked  Pleasanton's  command  in  force,  and 
prisoners  taken  reported  that  it  was  a  movement  by  General  Long- 
street  to  ascertain  where  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was.  It  was  a 
red  hot  fight,  in  which  both  infantry  and  cavalry  participated  on 
both  sides,  and  the  rebels  fell  back  at  nightfall  without  gaining  the 
information  they  sought.  General  Pleasanton  says  in  his  report, 
"that  this  action  closed  the  campaign  of  the  cavalry  in  Loudon 
and  Fauqier  counties,  as  orders  were  then  received  directing  no 


36  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

further  advance  towards  Culpepper,  and  informing  the  army  that 
Major-General  Burnsides  had  relieved  Major-General  McClellan 
of  the  command  of  it." 

In  closing  his  report  on  page  128  of  Vol.  XIX,  General  Pleas- 
anton  says :  "It  is  but  justice  to  the  troops  I  have  had  the-  honor 
to  command  that  I  should  mention  the  results  of  their  laborious 
exertions  and  chivalrous  gallantry  under  many  adverse  circum 
stances.  From  the  time  the  army  left  Washington  to  the  end  of 
the  campaign  at  Washington  the  cavalry  of  my  command  had 
taken  from  the  enemy  six  pieces  of  artillery,  four  stands  of  colors 
and  1,000  prisoners  of  war  without  losing  a  gun  or  a  color." 

In  the  return  march  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Richmond,  the  capture  of  which  the  entire  North  for  four 
years  seemed  to  consider  would  end  the  war,  the  cavalry  followed 
along  the  base  of  the  mountains  which  concealed  Lee's  army,  fight 
ing  his  cavalry  at  every  gap  in  the  mountains,  while  the  main 
army,  under  Burnsides,  traversed  the  plains  of  Manassas,  Bull 
Run  and  Culpepper,  where  but  little  more  than  two  months  before 
it  had  met  defeat  in  bloody  battles  at  the  hands  of  the  enemy  it 
was  now  pursuing. 

The  country,  where  rested  the  remains  of  so  many  brave  men  of 
both  armies,  and  which  had  been  marched  and  countermarched 
over  so  often  by  both  armies,  in  the  dreary,  late  autumn  days  of 
1862,  had  much  the  appearance  of  a  barren  waste,  and  vast  sec 
tions  of  it  had  ceased  to  be  the  habitation  of  man  or  beast.  Here 
and  there  stood  a  lone  chimney  surrounded  by  the  charred  embers 
of  some  destroyed  home  and  an  occasional  straggling  apple  tree 
was  all  that  was  left  to  mark  the  civilization  which  in  earlier  and 
happier  years  marked  the  proud  old  Virginia  as  the  mother  of 
Presidents.  Appomattox  came  later  to  vindicate  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  and  give  it  the  proud  distinction  of  fighting  its  bloodiest 
battles  and  ending  the  war,  but  in  the  ides  of  November,  1862, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  37 

as  we  marched  or  countermarched  across  those  bleak  plains  toward 
Fredricksburg,  the  days  seemed  "melancholy  days"  indeed. 

The  future,  full  of  uncertainty,  was  before  it,  and  the  recent  past 
with  its  bloody  horrors  was  not  far  behind,  and  if  the  reader  can 
put  himself  in  the  place  of  such  men  he  can  come  to  understand 
that  it  was  valor  and  patriotism  and  dearly  bought  discipline 
which  still  made  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  a  terrible  and  splendid 
fighting  machine  when  it  went  into  winter  quarters  on  the  banks 
of  the  Eappahannock  in  the  winter  of  1862  and  1863.  The 
cavalry  was  the  first  to  appear  at  Falmouth  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  river  and  locate  the  enemy  in  his  winter  quarters  and  en 
trenched  on  Maryes  Heights  surrounding  the  old-time  city  of 
Fredricksburg,  which  had  once  been  the  home  of  Washington  and 
where  reposed  the  remains  of  his  mother. 

The  eastern  battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  went  into 
camp  at  Belle  Plains,  a  landing  on  the  Potomac,  a  short  distance 
below  the  mouth  of  Acquia  creek,  in  the  edge  of  a  pine  thicket, 
where  the  men  built  cabins  of  small  pine  logs,  chinked  them  with 
mud,  erected  stick  chimneys,  used  their  dog  tents  for  roofing,  and 
in  a  very  few  days  were  quite  comfortably  situated.  This  situa 
tion  was  of  brief  duration,  for  at  midnight  on  the  first  of  Decem 
ber,  1862,  the  battalion  was  ordered  to  move  southward  fifteen 
miles  for  picket  duty  on  the  Rappahannock,  in  King  Georges 
county.  During  this  service  the  camp  of  the  battalion  was  on 
the  three-thousand-acre  farm  of  Col.  William  Tailo,  one  of  the 
finest  plantations  in  all  Virginia. 

The  master  of  this  splendid  estate  lived  in  a  fine  country  seat, 
located  on  the  brow  of  a  hill  overlooking  a  broad  expanse  of  fertile 
river-bottom  lands,  and  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  towards  the  river 
were  our  quarters,  where  he  housed  his  three  hundred  slaves.  The 
battalion  picketed  the  river  for  several  miles  in  front  of  this  plan 
tation  as  far  southward  as  Port  Conway,  the  south  bank  of  the 
river  being  picketed  by  the  infantry  of  Stonewall  Jackson,  with 


38  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

whom  we  became  on  excellent  terms.  Colonel  Tailo's  corn  cribs 
and  wheat  stacks  furnished  a  splendid  supply  of  forage  for  the 
horses  and  men,  and  the  latter  utilized  an  old-fashioned  water  mill 
and  its  slave  miller,  with  which  the  farm  was  equipped,  to  convert 
a  quantity  of  the  Colonel's  wheat  into  unbolted  flour  that  made 
very  passable  biscuits. 

The  Colonel's  son  was  an  officer  in  one  of  Jackson's  regiments 
across  the  river  immediately  in  front  of  us,  and  the  old  gentleman 
himself  made  no  pretense  of  loyalty  to  the  Union.  We  enjoyed  his 
hospitality  for  about  two  weeks  until  called  to  the  battlefield  of 
Fredricksburg  on  the  night  of  December  12,  1862,  where  we  sat 
in  line  for  two  days,  and  during  which  time  we  witnessed  the 
bombardment  of  the  old  city  and  the  slaughter  of  ten  thousand 
brave  Union  men  by  the  enemy  posted  on  Maryes  Heights,  that  the 
demand  of  the  politicians  at  Washington  and  elsewhere  for  a  battle 
might  be  answered.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  never  fought 
better  than  it  did  at  Fredricksburg  in  December,  1862,  but  the 
fates  were  against  it  in  the  position  held  by  the  enemy,  and  this 
battle  was  the  unfortunate  ending  of  the  country's  second  year  of 
war  for  its  existence. 

The  year  had  not  been  propitious  for  the  cause  of  the  Union, 
unless  our  vastly  increased  armies  of  better  drilled  soldiers,  in 
spired  by  a  dogged  determination  to  ultimately  conquer,  could  be 
accepted  as  a  favorable  omen.  Our  great  armies  in  the  East  and 
West  had  advanced  into  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  country,  fought 
terrible  battles  on  his  soil,  and,  by  being  outmaneuvered,  com 
pelled  to  fall  back  to  their  own  frontier,  and  base  of  supplies ;  and 
the  end  of  the  year  found  the  armies  either  East  or  West  little 
advanced  from  where  they  had  started  a  year  before. 

Both  the  Eastern  and  Western  battalions  of  the  Third  Indiana 
Cavalry  had  had  a  similar  experience.  Each  had  been  constantly 
engaged  in  the  advance  skirmishes  of  the  respective  armies  to 
which  they  belonged,  and  in  retreat  had  formed  a  part  of  the  rear 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIED  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  39 

guard  that  held  the  enemy  in  check.  Both  had  suffered  in  the  loss 
of  brave  men,  and  their  chief  compensation  was  in  their  experience 
of  sixteen  months7  service  and  the  efficiency  which  necessarily 
came  with  such  experience,  and  the  end  of  this  term  of  service 
found  both  on  the  outpost  picket  and  firing  line,  ready  to  go  when 
called  or  ordered. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Neither  one  of  the  four  companies,  G,  H,  I  and  K,  organized 
and  mustered  into  the  service,  and  designated  as  a  part  of  the 
Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  after  the  first  six  companies  had  been 
mustered  and  ordered  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  were  ever 
permitted  to  join  the  battalion  that  had  departed  for  the  East. 
Indiana  troops,  as  organized,  prior  to  the  creation  of  the  Depart 
ment  of  Kentucky  had  been  sent  in  about  equal  proportions  to  Gen. 
Fremont  in  Missouri  and  General  McClellan  in  Virginia,  were, 
after  the  formation  of  the  Department  of  Kentucky,  sent  to  this 
new  department  as  fast  as  mustered.  And  thus  it  was  that  the 
four  companies  above  mentioned  and  designated  as  a  part  of  the 
Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  when  ready  for  the  field  were  ordered  to 
Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  the  men  of  the  regiment  who  served  in 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  never  knew  anything  about  the  others 
until  after  the  close  of  the  war,  and  they  began  to  meet  in  regi 
mental  reunions.  And  the  only  men  who  ever  joined  either  one  of 
the  ten  companies  now  in  the  field  went  as  recruits  to  fill  up  the 
depleted  ranks  of  the  various  companies. 

Pursuant  to  this  policy,  according  to  the  record  (War  of  Rebel 
lion  Record,  Vol.  VII,  page  467),  on  December  6,  1861,  Company 
G,  under  Capt.  Felix  Graham,  became  a  part  of  Brig.-Gen.  George 
H.  Thomas's  division,  Army  of  the  Ohio,  doing  duty  at  his  head 
quarters.  Company  H,  commanded  by  Capt.  Alfred  Gaddis,  was 
assigned  to  Gen.  A.  D.  McCook's  division  for  duty  at  his  head 
quarters.  Company  I,  under  Capt.  Will  C.  Moreau,  ordered  to 
report  to  General  Buell,  Louisville,  reported  to  General  McCook 
at  Elizabethtown,  Kentucky,  but  was  ordered  back  to  Louisville 
after  a  few  days.  General  Nelson,  commanding  the  Fourth  Divi- 

40 


MAJOR  CHARLES  LEMON— KILLED  AT  GETTEYSBURG. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  41 

sion  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  at  Paducah,  Kentucky,  on  the  22d 
of  February,  1862,  reports  that  he  had  two  companies  of  Indiana 
cavalry  with  him  under  Capt.  Robert  Klein  (Vol.  VII,  page  654). 
These  two  companies  were  Companies  I  and  K  of  the  Third  Indi 
ana  Cavalry,  Captain  Klein  being  captain  of  the  latter  company. 

These  different  companies,  thus  assigned,  served  with  the  com 
mands  to  which  they  were  assigned,  and  were  with  those  dif 
ferent  commands  in  their  several  movements  in  Kentucky,  on  Salt 
river,  Green  river  and  the  Ohio,  until  our  armies,  numbering  over 
one  hundred  thousand  men,  concentrated  at  Nashville,  Tennessee, 
about  the  first  of  March,  1862.  Under  their  several  assignments 
these  companies  performed  orderly  duty,  acted  as  scouts,  pickets, 
and  had  numerous  skirmishes  at  different  times  with  small  bodies 
of  the  enemy's  cavalry  that  was  always  active  on  the  front  of  our 
advancing  armies.  After  the  battle  of  Mills  Springs,  in  which 
the  rebel  generals  Payton  and  Zollicoffer  were  killed,  Captain 
Gaddis,  with  one  hundred  picked  men  of  Companies  G  and  H, 
was  sent  into  the  rebel  lines  to  vescort  and  deliver  the  remains  of 
these  distinguished  rebels  to  their  friends.  Generals  Johnson  and 
JSTegley,  of  the  Union  forces,  with  their  respective  staffs,  accom 
panied  this  expedition,  as  well  as  reporters  from  Frank  Leslie's 
Magazine  and  the  Cincinnati  Commercial.  They  were  within  the 
rebel  lines  a  day  and  night. 

On  the  march  to  Nashville,  Tennessee,  on  the  25th  of  January, 
1862,  Capt.  Will  C.  Moreau,  First  Lieut.  Tighlman  Fish  and  Sec 
ond  Lieut.  Oliver  Childs,  who  were  the  commissioned  officers  of 
Company  I,  resigned,  and  on  the  16th  of  February,  1862,  Charles 
Hedrick,  orderly  sergeant  of  the  company,  was  mustered  as  second 
lieutenant,  promoted  to  first  lieutenant,  and  on  the  27th  of  Febru 
ary,  1862,  Argus  D.  Vanarsdol  was  made  captain  and  Thomas  B. 
Wilkinson  second  lieutenant  of  that  company.  Captain  Vanarsdol 
resigned  on  the  1st  of  May,  1863,  and  Lieutenants  Hedrick  and 
Wilkinson  remained  officers  of  the  company  until  the  close  of  its 


42  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

term  of  service,  the  former  being  captain  of  the  company  at  the 
date  of  its  discharge. 

After  reaching  Nashville  Company  I,  of  the  Third  Indiana 
Cavalry,  was  detailed  as  provost  guards  for  the  city,  and  was  con 
tinued  in  the  performance  of  this  duty  until  Bragg' s  invasion  of 
Tennessee  and  Kentucky  in  the  summer  of  1862,  when  it  was 
withdrawn  with  our  other  forces  and  accompanied  the  armies 
northward  to  Louisville.  The  other  three  companies  continued  to 
perform  duty  at  the  respective  headquarters  to  which  they  had 
been  assigned,  scouting  and  picketing  the  various  roads  leading 
out  of  Nashville.  In  one  of  these  scouts  on  the  Murfreesborough 
pike  Captain  Klein  with  his  company,  K,  encountered  a  force  of 
General  Morgan's  rebel  cavalry,  in  which  Captain  Klein  lost  two 
horses  and  one  man  killed. 

On  the  15th  of  March,  1862,  the  army  at  Nashville  began  the 
march  that  finally  brought  it  to  Pittsburg  Landing  and  the  battle 
field  of  Shiloh,  on  the  6th  of  April,  1862.  Companies  G,  H  and 
K  were  still  with  the  headquarters  commands,  which  they  had 
accompanied  from  the  Ohio  river,  and  performing  the  same  kind 
of  duty  they  had  performed  from  the  first.  They  were  with  their 
respective  commands  at  the  great  battle  of  Shiloh,  but  that  was  an 
infantry  and  artillery  battle,  and  cavalry  only  performed  escort, 
orderly  and  picket  duty.  At  Shiloh,  on  the  9th  of  April,  1862, 
Capt.  Felix  W.  Graham,  of  Company  G,  resigned  and  returned 
home  to  become  colonel  of  the  Fifth  Indiana  Cavalry,  and  on  the 
17th  of  May,  1862,  George  F.  Herriott,  the  first  lieutenant  of  that 
company,  became  captain.  On  the  same  date  Sergt.  Daniel  Cal- 
lahan  was  made  second  lieutenant,  Lieut.  William  J.  Lucas,  of 
the  same  company,  having  been  promoted  from  second  to  first 
lieutenant  on  the  30th  of  April,  1862. 

Capt.  Alfred  Gaddis,  of  Company  H,  with  McCook's  head 
quarters,  in  a  letter  dated  April  10,  1862,  "On  the  Battlefield, 
near  Pittsburg  Landing,"  wrote:  "The  battle  was  raging  when 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  43 

we  got  here.  We  could  hear  the  cannonading  for  miles,  and  on  the 
army  marched,  leaving  baggage  and  every  incumbrance  behind. 
When  we  reached  the  river  the  musketry  firing  had  ceased  and  all 
was  quiet,  except  the  gunboats,  three  in  number,  that  threw  shells 
all  night  to  keep  the  "secesh"  off,  for  they  had  repulsed  Grant's 
army  of  sixty-five  thousand,  which  had  got  under  cover  of  the 
gunboats  for  protection,  the  enemy  having  possession  of  their 
battlefield  and  camp,  with  all  the  tents  and  equipage. 

"On  Monday  morning  Buell's  forces  began  the  terrible  slaugh 
ter,  and  on  Wednesday  it  still  continued,  only  the  rebels  are  being 
driven  back.  My  command  was  not  in  the  fight.  Cavalry  could 
not  be  used  to  advantage  in  the  woods.  We  were  sent  with  the 
Nineteenth  Regulars  to  guard  the  batteries  belonging  to  McCook's 
division  and  were  detained  here  for  further  orders.  Next  morn 
ing  a  number  of  prisoners  were  turned  over  to  my  charge  as  they 
were  taken;  so  many  that  I  had  to  get  other  forces  to  help  guard 
them. 

"All  our  baggage  trains  are  back  with  the  whole  division  trains. 
None  of  the  men  have  tents.  We  are  quartered  in  a  wheatfield  and 
have  our  "secesh77  guests  on  pasture.  Many  of  them  have  relatives 
and  friends  that  bring  them  food.  It  is  quite  cold  and  has  rained 
four  nights  in  succession.  I  rode  over  the  battlefield  with  General 
McCook  and  his  staff.  It  was  a  horrible  sight.  Our  wounded  had 
been  taken  off.  The  dead  were  being  cared  for,  that  is  our  own 
men.  The  dead  seemed  innumerable." 

On  this  field  Captain  Gaddis  was  taken  down  with  typhoid  fever 
and  sent  to  his  home  in  the  North,  and  was  absent,  sick  and  on  de 
tached  service  until  April  7,  1863,  when  he  rejoined  his  company, 
in  camp  near  Murfreesborough,  Tenn. 

Company  I,  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  was  with  General 
Nelson  on  the  battlefield  of  Shiloh,  acting  in  the  same  capacity  it 
had  been  acting  at  his  headquarters,  and  accompanied  him  on  the 
march  and  at  the  siege  of  Corinth,  and  was  with  him  until  the 


44  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

first  of  June,  1862,  when  it  was  detached  and  assigned  to  the 
cavalry  corps  commanded  by  General  Thatcher. 

The  record  (Series  1,  Vol.  XVI,  Part  2,  page  8)  discloses  that 
at  this  time  the  Second  Indiana,  Third  Kentucky,  Third  Ohio 
and  three  companies  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  Capt.  Robert 
Klein,  formed  an  independent  cavalry  brigade  of  the  troops  in 
the  district  of  the  Ohio  commanded  by  General  Buell.  These  were 
Companies  G,  H  and  K,  and  we  find  the  same  companies  at  page 
591  of  the  same  volume  noted  as  unattached  with  the  Second 
Division  of  the  First  Army  Corps,  the  latter  commanded  by  Gen. 
A.  D.  McCook  and  the  cavalry  by  Gen.  Joshua  W.  Sill.  At  that 
time  these  companies  were  under  the  command  of  Robert  Klein, 
who  was  promoted  to  major  on  the  20th  of  October,  1862. 

After  the  Shiloh  and  Corinth  campaign  these  three  companies 
with  Buell's  army  fell  back  to  Louisville  before  Bragg' s  invading 
army,  and  at  the  latter  city  were  joined  by  Company  I,  which 
had  been  doing  provost  duty  in  Nashville  from  early  in  March, 
1862,  and  this  was  the  first  time  the  four  companies  of  the  Third 
Indiana  Cavalry  in  the  West  had  ever  been  together  and  under  one 
command. 

When  Buell  began  his  forward  movement  against  Bragg  in 
October,  1862,  these  four  companies  under  the  command  of  Major 
Klein  formed  part  of  Buell's  advance  cavalry  and  were  with  him 
at  the  battle  of  Perryville  on  the  8th  of  October,  1862.  It  con 
tinued  with  the  advance  of  BuelPs  army  to  Nashville,  and,  accord 
ing  to  a  report  of  Colonel  Buckland,  of  the  Fifth  Kentucky  Cav 
alry,  dated  December  7,  1862,  Captain  Vanarsdol  with  two  com 
panies  of  the  Third  Indiana  was  with  him  guarding  General  Sill's 
wagon  train,  which  was  attacked  by  General  Wheeler's  rebel  cav 
alry  and  a  force  of  infantry,  and  was  only  saved  by  brisk  fighting 
on  the  part  of  the  Union  forces  guarding  the  train.  This  affair 
occurred  on  the  road  from  Lebanon  to  Franklin,  Tennessee,  on 
the  6th  of  December,  1862.  (Vol.  XX,  Part  1,  page  35.) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  45 

In  this  report  Colonel  Buckland  says:  "The  Third  Indiana 
Cavalry  of  two  companies,  under  Captain  Vanarsdol,  was  ordered 
to  the  front,  and  here  I  would  say  that  no  men  could  have  behaved 
better  than  those  two  companies,  nor  could  any  one  have  maneuv 
ered  them  to  better  advantage  than  the  captain  in  command." 

The  record  (Vol.  XX,  page  176,  December  26,  1862)  shows 
that  Companies  G,  H,  I  and  K,  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  formed 
part  of  Col.  Philemon  P.  Baldwin's  Second  Brigade,  Gen.  Richard 
W.  Johnson's  Second  Division,  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and 
with  this  command  participated  in  the  great  Battle  of  Stone  River 
on  the  31st  of  December,  1862,  and  the  1st  of  January,  1863. 
According  to  official  reports  (Vol.  XX,  page  209)  its  casualties 
were  four  killed,  six  wounded,  fifteen  captured  or  missing,  one 
ambulance  and  thirty  cavalry  horses. 

General  Johnson  in  his  report  (Vol.  XX,  page  295)  says: 
"Major  Klein  and  his  battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry 
deserve  special  mention.  Under  their  gallant  leader,  the  battalion 
was  always  in  the  front  and  rendered  efficient  service." 

In  the  engagement  of  December  27,  at  Nolensville,  Sergt.  Rich 
ard  Newell  and  Private  Stephen  Moore,  of  Company  H,  and  Pri 
vate  Mack  Dunn,  of  Company  G,  were  three  of  the  men  killed, 
and  Sergt.  John  S.  Irvin  and  John  A.  Mason  were  among  the 
badly  wounded. 

In  his  report  dated  January  9,  1863,  Brig-Gen.  David  S. 
Stanley,  U.  S.  Army,  Chief  of  Cavalry  (page  617,  Series  1,  Vol. 
XX,  War  of  the  Rebellion  Official  Records)  gives  his  account  of 
the  skirmishes  near  La  Vergne,  December  27 ;  Wilkinsons  Cross 
Roads,  December  29;  Overalls  Creek,  December  31,  and  Lytles 
Creek,  January  5.  He  says :  "The  reserve  cavalry  consisted  of  the 
new  regiments,  viz.,  Anderson  Troop,  or  Fifteenth  Pennsylvania, 
First  Middle  Tennessee,  Second  East  Tennessee  Cavalry  and  four 
companies  of  the  Third  Indiana.  I  commanded  in  person  and 


46  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

preceded  General  McCook's  corps  on  the  Nolensville  pike.  On  the 
morning  of  the  27th  our  cavalry  first  encountered  the  enemy  on 
the  Nolensville  pike  one  mile  in  advance  of  Bole  Jack  Pass. 
Their  cavalry  was  in  large  force  and  accompanied  by  a  battery  of 
artillery.  Fighting  continued  from  10  o'clock  until  evening, 
during  which  time  we  had  driven  the  enemy  two  miles  beyond 
La  Vergne. 

"The  Third  Indiana  and  Anderson  Troop  behaved  very  gal 
lantly,  charging  the  enemy  twice  and  bringing  them  to  hand  to 
hand  encounters.  The  conduct  of  Majors  Rosengarten  and  Ward, 
the  former  now  deceased,  was  most  heroic. 

"On  the  28th  we  made  a  reconnoissance  to  College  Grove  and 
found  that  Hardee's  rebel  corps  had  marched  to  Murfreesborough. 
On  the  29th,  Colonel  Zahm's  brigade  having  joined  us,  we  were 
directed  to  march  upon  Murfreesborough  by  the  Franklin  road, 
the  reserve  cavalry  moving  on  the  Bole  Jack  road,  the  columns 
communicating  at  the  crossing  of  Stewarts  Creek.  We  encoun 
tered  the  enemy's  cavalry  and  found  them  in  strong  force  at 
Wilkinsons  Cross  Eoads.  Our  cavalry  drove  them  rapidly  across 
Overalls  Creek  and  within  one-half  mile  of  the  enemy's  line  of 
battle.  The  Anderson  Cavalry  behaved  most  gallantly  this  day, 
pushing  a  full  charge  upon  the  enemy  for  six  miles.  Unfortu 
nately  their  advance  proved  too  reckless.  Having  dispersed  their 
cavalry,  the  troop  fell  upon  two  regiments  of  rebel  infantry  in 
ambush,  and,  after  a  gallant  struggle,  were  compelled  to  retire 
with  the  loss  of  Major  Rosengarten  and  six  men  killed,  and  the 
brave  Major  Ward  and  five  men  desperately  wounded." 

Maj.  Robert  Klein,  at  page  646  of  the  same  volume,  officially 
reports  his  operations  with  the  four  companies,  G,  H,  I  and  K, 
Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  from  December  26,  1862,  to  January  3, 
1863,  in  a  report  dated  near  Murfreesborough,  Tenn.,  January  7, 
1863,  including  skirmishes  at  Triune,  December  27,  and  near 
Overalls  Creek,  December  31.  He  says: 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  47 

"The  four  companies  under  my  command  left  camp  on  the 
26th,  as  ordered,  and,  bringing  up  the  rear  of  the  Second  Division, 
encamped  beyond  Nolensville.  On  the  following  morning,  27th, 
having  orders,  reported  to  General  Stanley,  the  chief  of  cavalry, 
who,  remarking  he  'had  understood  the  Third  knew  how  to  take 
these  rebels/  ordered  me  to  move  forward  and  take  the  advance 
of  the  column  of  cavalry  then  moving  towards  Triune. 

"I  succeeded  in  gaining  the  advance  at  about  the  point  where 
the  enemy's  outposts  were  expected  to  be.  I  then  threw  out  por 
tions  of  Company  H,  Lieutenant  Young  commanding,  on  either 
side  of  the  pike,  and  putting  out  an  advance  guard,  moved  smartly 
down  the  pike.  Our  advance  soon  encountered  the  enemy  in  con 
siderable  force  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle.  The  column  now  moved 
on  to  them  at  a  gallop,  receiving  the  whole  of  their  fire  into 
one  company  (Company  G,  Captain  Herriott),  the  skirmishers  on 
the  flanks  not  being  able  to  come  up  for  some  time  on  account  of 
the  soft  nature  of  the  ground  and  the  fences  intervening.  Com 
pany  G  held  its  ground  until  Company  I,  Captain  Vanarsdol, 
on  the  right,  and  Company  K,  Lieutenant  Lieske,  on  the  left, 
advanced  gallantly  to  the  rescue,  and,  despite  superior  force,  drove 
them  across  the  narrow  valley  to  a  position  beyond,  where  their 
artillery  covered  them.  Here  we  advanced,  with  the  remainder  of 
our  cavalry  force  and  drove  them  from  this  hill,  from  which  they 
fell  back  to  Triune. 

"We  were  ordered  by  General  Stanley,  with  one  company  of  the 
Fifteenth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  to  attack  the  enemy  on  the  right 
side  of  the  pike.  They  were  posted  behind  a  stone  wall,  heads 
only  visible,  one  or  more  regiments  strong.  We  advanced  across 
the  open  fields  and  were  pouring  in  a  steady  fire  at  easy  range 
when  two  pieces  of  artillery,  about  500  yards  to  our  left,  and  two 
in  front  opened  on  us,  obliging  us  to  retire  to  the  cover  of  the 
woods  from  where  we  advanced.  This  movement  was  done 
promptly  but  in  good  order.  On  the  following  morning  my  bat- 


48  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

talion  was  in  advance  of  the  reconnoissance  under  General  Wil- 
lich ;  we  did  no  fighting,  but  captured  some  sixteen  of  the  enemy's 
stragglers.  On  the  Nolensville  pike  we  had  three  killed  and  three 
wounded.  We  lost  also  a  few  horses,  wounded  and  disabled,  and 
one  killed  by  cannon  shot.  On  the  29th  and  30th  nothing  of  note 
occurred. 

aOn  the  morning  of  the  31st  ultimo  my  battalion  was  posted 
with  our  cavalry  force  beyond  Wilsons  Cross  Eoads  pike,  on  the 
rear  and  right  of  the  Second  Division.  When  our  forces  first  gave 
way  before  overwhelming  numbers  of  the  enemy,  the  efficiency  of 
my  battalion  was  destroyed  in  being  divided  by  one  of  our  own 
cavalry  regiments  running  through  our  ranks  and  scattering  the 
men.  This  movement,  had  it  been  in  the  opposite  direction,  would 
have  been  a  most  gallant  charge  and,  doubtless,  from  its  determina 
tion,  an  efficient  one.  We  kept  falling  back,  forming  and  charging 
at  intervals,  until  forced  across  the  Murfreesborough  pike,  where 
one  of  my  companies  was  first  to  form  and  drive  the  enemy  from 
our  train. 

aWe  captured  during  the  retreat  eleven  of  the  enemy.  One  of 
Company  G,  Corporal  Justice,  recaptured  our  ambulance,  con 
taining  our  surgeon,  by  shooting  down  one  of  its  captors  and 
frightening  the  other  away.  I  regret  to  say  that  Corporal  Justice 
was  afterwards  captured.  We  were  formed  near  the  center  of  our 
cavalry  when  the  enemy  in  the  afternoon  again  attempted  to  take 
our  train.  We  participated  in  the  fight  and  charge  that  followed. 
We  lost  one  man  on  that  morning,  Private  Daniel  Gibbons,  of 
Gen.  Willich's  escort,  and  two  others  wounded.  On  the  following 
days  of  the  fight  my  battalion  was  on  provost  duty.  Our  loss  sums 
up :  Killed  four,  wounded  six,  missing  ten,  captured  five.  Of  the 
missing  doubtless  nearly  all  were  captured.  Our  total  loss  is 
twenty-five  men,  thirty  horses  and  one  ambulance. 

"Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant,  R.  KLEIN, 

"Major  Commanding  Battalion." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  49 

Daniel  Gibbons  was  of  Company  G,  Third  Indiana  Cavalry. 

In  an  expedition  covering  four  days,  beginning  with  the  3d  of 
February,  1863,  the  Fifth  Division  of  the  Fourteenth  Army 
Corps,  from  Murfreesborough,  Ma j. -Gen.  J.  J.  Reynolds  com 
manding,  reports  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  under  Capt.  G.  F. 
Herriott  as  constituting  a  part  of  his  command.  The  expedition 
encountered  rebel  cavalry  at  various  points,  captured  a  number  of 
prisoners,  a  number  of  animals  and  destroyed  a  large  amount  of 
rebel  subsistence  stores.  (Vol.  XXIII,  Part  1,  page  42.)  Lieut- 
Col.  Fielder  A.  Jones,  commanding  First  Brigade,  First  Division, 
Twentieth  Army  Corps  (same  volume,  page  137),  reports  a  rec- 
onnoissance  made  by  his  command,  March  6  and  7,  1863,  on  the 
old  Shelbyville  road  to  Middletown.  Colonel  Jones  says:  "We 
found  the  enemy  posted  in  strong  position  four  miles  from  Mid 
dletown,  which  position  was  handsomely  carried  by  our  troops. 
We  drove  the  enemy  through  Middletown  and  out  of  his  camp  one 
and  one-half  miles  beyond  the  town.  He  made  four  different 
stands,  but  was  quickly  dislodged  by  our  men.  I  never  saw  finer 
nor  more  intrepid  skirmishing  than  was  done  by  the  Thirty-second 
and  Thirty-ninth  Indiana,  Forty-ninth  Ohio  and  about  seventy 
men  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry.  Great  credit  is  due  both  to 
officers  and  men  of  those  commands.77 

This  Volume  XXIII  of  the  official  records,  from  which  we  have 
been  quoting,  indicates  that  the  Western  battalion  of  the  Third 
Indiana  Cavalry  was  a  busy  body  of  men  from  the  time  they  left 
Louisville  with  the  army  in  September,  1862.  We  have  given 
their  movements  up  to  and  through  the  Murfreesborough  cam 
paign,  and  up  to  the  6th  of  March,  1863.  According  to  a  report 
of  Brig.-Gen.  Jeff.  C.  Davis  (page  145)  we  find  a  part  of  the  bat 
talion  at  Eagleville,  Tenn.,  who  were  ordered  by  him  to  the  head 
quarters  of  the  general  commanding  the  corps.  This  was  on  the 
llth  of  March.  On  the  9th  of  April,  1863,  they  were  part  of  a 
command  of  1,600  men  under  Major-General  Stanley  which  left 


50  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

Murfreesborough  to  scout  the  country  to  Triune,  and  thence  to 
Franklin  and  to  give  General  Granger  such  assistance  as  he  might 
need  in  his  operations  against  VanDoran,  in  command  of  4,000 
rebels  (Vol.  XXIII,  page  230).  Lieutenant-Colonel  Klein,  from 
Camp  Drake,  Tenn.,  under  date  of  April  16,  1863  (page  238), 
makes  the  following  report  of  his  part  in  that  affair: 

"Sir — I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  following  as  the  part  taken 
by  the  detachment  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  170  strong, 
under  my  command,  during  the  late  scout  to  Franklin,  Tenn. 
Nothing  worthy  of  note  occurred  until  on  the  10th  instant,  when, 
halted  four  miles  from  Franklin  I  was  placed  under  command  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Robie,  commanding  Second  Brigade,  with 
which  brigade  we  acted  during  the  entire  engagement  and  re 
mainder  of  the  scout.  Early  in  the  afternoon  we  were  ordered  to 
proceed  to  Harpeth  river  at  Hughes  Mill,  where  our  brigade 
crossed  at  lower  ford,  opposite  the  bluff.  We  moved  across  the 
open  field  and  woods  to  the  Lewisburg  pike,  driving  the  enemy's 
sentinels  towards  Franklin,  in  which  direction  we  observed  them 
in  considerable  mounted  force.  The  brigade  was  formed  across 
the  pike,  facing  towards  Franklin,  my  battalion  being  in  the  center, 
where  we  were  to  await  their  approach. 

"The  Fourth  Regulars  becoming  engaged  in  our  rear,  towards 
Lewisburg,  we  were  ordered  to  face  about  and  move  down  the 
Lewisburg  end  of  the  pike,  which  we  did  in  fine  order,  and  had 
laid  down  the  last  fence  between  us  and  the  reserves  of  the  force 
engaging  the  Fourth  Regulars,  and  would  soon  have  captured 
them  and  the  horses  of  their  dismounted  men,  the  guard  being 
inconsiderable,  but  orders  were  given  to  fall  back,  as  they  were 
advancing  from  Franklin  in  our  rear.  We  fell  back  with  the 
promptness  characteristic  of  cavalry  movements,  and  formed  in 
the  field  and  woods  near  the  bluff  at  the  crossing,  our  line  being  at 
an  acute  angle  with  the  pike  and  bluff,  our  left  nearest  the  pike 
and  our  right  nearest  the  bluff,  with  my  battalion  again  in  the 


HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIED  INDIANA  CAVALEY.  51 

center  of  the  Second  Brigade.  The  enemy  made  two  attacks  on 
this  position,  and  were  both  times  repulsed;  but  coming 
through  the  woods  in  force  and  attacking  our  left  vigorously, 
doubled  it  on  the  center,  obliging  us  to  fall  back.  We  again 
formed  parallel  to  the  bluff,  which  position  we  held  until  the 
enemy  retired.  We  were  in  advance  of  the  reconnoitering  force 
which  went  out  in  the  evening,  but  nothing  worthy  of  note  occurred. 
Our  loss  in  the  whole  scout  was  very  small,  being  two  mortally 
and  two  slightly  wounded ;  also  twelve  horses  killed,  disabled  and 
abandoned.  I  take  pleasure  in  testifying  to  the  general  good  con 
duct  of  my  officers  and  men,  their  actions  meeting  my  full  appro 
bation.  I  am,  Captain,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"R.  KLEIN,  Lieutenant- Colonel, 
"Commanding  Third  Indiana  Cavalry. 

"Capt.  W.  H.  Sinclair,  Assistant  Adjutant-General." 

On  May  22,  1863,  Colonel  Klein  makes  the  following  report 
(Vol.  XXIII,  page  344)  : 

"Sir — I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  following  as  the  part  taken 
by  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  under  my  command,  in  the  descent 
on  Middletown  this  instant:  My  battalion,  being  in  the  rear  of 
the  Fourth  Michigan  Cavalry,  brought  up  the  rear  of  the  First 
Brigade,  and  in  the  charge  on  the  rebel  camps  followed  the  Fourth 
Michigan  close  up,  deploying  on  the  left  of  the  same  and  charging 
through  the  woods  in  the  direction  of  Fosterville.  We  met  very 
little  resistance,  exchanging  only  a  few  shots.  We  captured  twelve 
prisoners,  three  Sharp's  carbines,  eight  horses  and  one  mule.  No 
casualties  to  my  battalion. 

"Your  obedient  servant, 

"R.  KLEIN,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Commanding." 

The  volume  from  which  we  have  been  quoting  (page  356)  shows 
the  battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana,  under  Colonel  Klein,  went 
with  the  brigade  of  Colonel  Minty  from  their  camp  near  Murfrees- 
borough  on  the  3d  of  June,  1863,  out  on  the  Wartrace  road,  where 


52  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

it  crosses  Stone  river,  and  engaged  the  enemy  in  force  at  that  point. 
And  on  June  10  the  battalion  was  engaged  in  a  scout  and  skirmish 
with  the  enemy's  pickets  on  the  Middletown  road  (page  373).  On 
June  15  the  same  command  went  on  a  raid  to  Lebanon,  Tenn. 
(page  394).  On  the  3d  of  July,  1863,  Colonel  Watkins7  com 
mand,  consisting  of  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Kentucky  and  Third 
Indiana  Cavalry,  reported  to  General  Sheridan  for  duty  (page 
467). 

General  Sheridan,  reporting  his  operations  from  June  24  to 
July  5,  1863  (page  516),  after  leaving  Murfreesborough,  says: 
"Just  before  reaching  Cowan,  July  3,  I  was  joined  by  Colonel 
Watkins  with  1,200  cavalry.  I  learned  during  the  night  that  the 
enemy  had  taken  up  a  position  at  or  near  University,  near  the  top 
of  the  mountain  about  seven  miles  from  this  place,  and  had  cov 
ered  his  front  with  General  Wharton's  cavalry.  To  ascertain  the 
truth  of  this  I  directed  Colonel  Watkins  with  the  Fifth  and  Sixth 
Kentucky  and  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  of  his  command,  on  the 
morning  of  the  4th  of  July,  to  feel  the  enemy  and  drive  him  until 
he  was  satisfied  he  was  there  in  force.  This  reconnoissance  was 
very  handsomely  executed  by  Colonel  Watkins,  who  drove  the 
enemy  about  three  miles,  inflicting  severe  loss.  Our  own  casual 
ties  were  fourteen.  On  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  July  I  directed 
Colonel  Watkins  to  feel  the  enemy  again,  to  ascertain  if  his  posi 
tion  was  a  permanent  one,  at  the  same  time  sending  the  Third 
Indiana  Cavalry  to  Mount  Top,  on  my  right  and  down  the  road  in 
the  direction  of  Stephenson.  Colonel  Watkins  found  the  enemy 
had  fled.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Klein,  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  found 
that  a  small  portion  of  the  enemy  had  crossed  on  that  road.  He 
captured  forty-one  head  of  beef  cattle  from  the  enemy's  rear  guard 
and  brought  them  into  camp.77 

In  Volume  XXIII,  Part  2,  page  556,  Col.  K.  G.  Minty,  com 
manding  the  First  Brigade,  Second  Cavalry  Division,  on  July  10, 
1863,  made  a  report  of  the  engagement  at  Shelbyville,  Tenn.,  on 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  53 

the  27th  of  June,  1863,  of  which  affair  Lieutenant-Colonel  Klein 
gives  an  account  in  the  foregoing  report.  In  Volume  LII,  Part  1, 
page  425,  in  a  supplemental  report  dated  Camp  near  Salem, 
Tenn.,  July  29,  1863,  he  says: 

"Sir — Eeferring  to  my  report  of  July  8,  I  hand  you  the  follow 
ing  list  of  officers  and  men  deserving  of  special  mention  for  gallant 
conduct  at  Shelbyville  on  the  27th  of  June  ultimo.  First  Lieu 
tenant  Thompson,  Seventh  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  led  the  grand 
charge  on  the  rebel  battery.  He  rode  into  the  very  teeth  of  the 
guns  in  most  gallant  and  fearless  manner  and  captured  the  entire 
battery.  (Observation:  He  personally  captured  one  piece,  and 
with  Lieutenant  Vale,  of  the  same  regiment,  captured  another 
piece  near  the  railroad  station  after  a  personal  encounter  with  the 
officer  commanding  the  battery.)  Lieutenant  McCafferty,  Fourth 
U.  S.  Cavalry,  was  conspicuous  for  his  gallant  conduct  in  the 
charge  on  the  battery,  and  is  honorably  mentioned  by  Captain 
Davis.  Captain  Burns,  acting  assistant  adjutant-general  of  the 
brigade,  who  is  always  at  his  post  of  duty,  had  his  horse  shot  under 
him  while  among  the  foremost  in  the  charge  on  the  battery.  Lieut. 
Callahan,  Third  Indiana,  exhibited  great  gallantry  in  the  charge 
of  the  battalion  of  his  regiment  made  near  Skull  Camp  Bridge. 
Lieutenant  Young,  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  was  conspicuous  in 
the  same  charge;  he  received  two  slight  saber  wounds.  Sergt. 
Thomas  Sheaffer,  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  in  same  charge,  after 
being  wounded  in  the  face  with  a  saber  continued  to  hew  his  way 
through  the  rebel  ranks. 

"All  the  regimental  commanders,  viz.,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gal- 
braith,  First  Middle  Tennessee;  Captain  Mclntyre,  Fourth 
United  States;  Major  Mix,  Fourth  Michigan;  Colonel  Klein, 
Third  Indiana,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Sipes,  Seventh  Pennsyl 
vania,  are  deserving  of  special  mention  for  their  promptness  and 
manner  in  which  they  handled  their  respective  commands. 

"I  am  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"R  H.  G.  MINTY,  Colonel  Commanding." 


54  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

At  page  559,  Vol.  XXIII,  Colonel  Klein  makes  this  report: 

"Headquarters  Third  Battalion,  Third  Indiana  Cavalry, 

aSix  Miles  from  Winchester,  Tenn.,  July  7,  1863. 

"Sir — I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report  of  the 
operations  of  my  command  since  leaving  Murfreesborough  on  the 
24th  of  June :  Nothing  of  interest  occurred  until  the  27th,  when 
our  forces  advanced  on  Shelbyville,  when  the  first  determined 
opposition  was  found,  four  miles  from  that  place.  When  the 
artillery  opened  upon  us,  Colonel  Minty  ordered  my  command  to 
proceed  to  the  left,  with  orders  if  we  met  the  enemy  to  charge 
them,  saying  he  would  send  us  a  guide  to  show  us  where  to  go.  The 
guide  never  came.  We  proceeded  through  thick  woods,  dense 
undergrowth  and  tangled  vines  to  the  left  until  we  reached  the 
enemy's  abatis  and  rifle  pits,  where  no  horseman  could  go  forward, 
and  the  firing  having  ceased,  we  knew  not  our  exact  position.  I 
sent  for  orders,  and  on  receiving  them  turned  to  the  right  to  a 
point  where  I  could  cross  the  abatis  and  pits.  Here  the  roads,  cut 
through  the  woods,  led  to  the  left,  following  which,  we  reached  the 
Fairfield  and  Bellbuckle  pike,  two  and  one-half  miles  from  the 
city.  We  moved  down  this  smartly  to  a  point,  when  a  citizen  told 
us  it  turned  to  the  Murfreesborough  pike.  We  then  left  it  and 
passing  fields,  orchards  and  woods,  reached  the  outskirts  of  the 
town,  nearly  half  a  mile  from  the  Murfreesborough  road. 

"We  started  on  a  run  for  the  city,  and  passing  through  the  last 
alley  on  the  east  of  the  pike,  reached  the  railroad  several  hundred 
yards  from  the  depot,  part  of  my  men  crossing  the  railroad  beyond 
the  engine  house,  and  the  remainder  passing  under  the  trestle 
work.  We  found  the  enemy  in  line  on  the  road  leading  from  the 
depot  station  to  Steel  &  Holt's  mill. 

"My  men  coming  up  rather  scattered,  the  enemy  commenced 
firing  and/  advancing,  until  my  men  got  somewhat  formed,  when, 
firing  a  volley,  we  drew  saber  and  charged  into  their  ranks.  They 
fled  in  disorder  nearly  a  half  mile  towards  the  mill  where  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  55 

commons  narrow  into  a  lane ;  here  they  had  to  fight  or  be  run  down. 
They  fought  from  here  to  the  mill  desperately,  using  saber  and 
clubbing  muskets  and  pistols.  The  fight  was  hand  to  hand  for 
300  yards,  when  both  parties  plunged  into  the  river.  Even  here 
we  used  the  trusty  saber  with  effect.  We  killed  three  men, 
wounded  some  fifteen  with  saber,  and  captured  one  lieutenant- 
colonel,  one  captain,  one  of  Wheeler's  staff,  adjutant  Fifty- 
first  Alabama,  and  adjutant  Eighth  Confederate,  both  badly 
wounded  with  saber,  and  some  six  company  officers  and  seventy 
enlisted  men.  Our  loss  was  one  man  drowned  and  three  wounded ; 
some  others  of  my  men  were  unhorsed  by  blows  from  clubbed 
muskets,  but  not  seriously  injured.  My  officers  and  men  behaved 
in  the  most  gallant  manner,  doing  their  whole  duty.  They  picked 
up  several  men  beyond  the  river  in  the  pursuit  towards  Tullahoma. 
While  being  detached  from  the  brigade,  nothing  worthy  of  note  oc 
curred,  but  capturing  a  drove  of  beef  cattle  from  rear  guard  of 
enemy  on  mountain,  on  road  from  Cowans  Station  to  Bellefonte  on 
the  4th  of  July. 

"All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

"K.  KLEIN,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Third  Indiana  Cavalry. 
"Assistant    Adjutant-General    First    Brigade,    Second    Cavalry 

Division." 

Although  Companies  L  and  M  were  detained  in  Indiana 
through  the  summer  of  1863,  they  were  not  idle.  During  the 
Morgan  raid  the  following  dispatch  (Vol.  XXIII,  page  733)  in 
dicates  they  had  some  part  in  that  affair: 

"New  Albany,  Ind.,  July  12,  1863. 
"General  Boyle : 

"General — My  scouts  just  returned.  Forty-seven  rebels  at 
tacked  last  night  near  Providence  by  Third  Indiana  Cavalry; 
wounded  three,  took  nineteen  prisoners.  Still  in  pursuit. 

"THOMAS  W.  FEY,  Surgeon  U.  S.  Army." 


56  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

The  next  account  we  have  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  is  found 
in  the  report  of  Col.  Robert  G.  Minty  from  the  headquarters  of 
the  First  Brigade,  Second  Division  of  Cavalry,  dated  McMinnville, 
Tenn.,  August  11,  1863  (Vol.  XXIII,  Part  1,  page  846),  which 
reads : 

aSir — On  the  8th  instant,  having  received  information  that 
General  Dibrell  with  800  or  900  men  was  camped  two  miles  south 
of  Sparta,  I  marched  at  3  p.  m.  with  774  men,  hoping  to  surprise 
him.  I  took  two  days'  rations  and  one  day's  forage;  no  wagons 
or  ambulances.  At  11 :30  p.  m.  I  arrived  at  Spencer  and  re 
mained  long  enough  for  the  men  to  make  coffee  and  feed  horses. 
I  crossed  Caney  Fork  at  the  mouth  of  Cane  creek;  and,  at  day 
break,  struck  the  rebel  pickets  about  four  miles  south  of  Sparta 
and  followed  them  at  a  gallop,  but  arrived  at  the  town  without 
seeing  anything  of  their  camp.  In  town  I  learned  that  they  had 
changed  camp  the  evening  before,  and  were  then  between  three 
and  four  miles  north  of  Sparta,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Calfkiller. 
I  pushed  forward  rapidly,  but  the  pickets,  whoses  horses  were 
fresh,  had  given  notice  of  our  approach,  and  the  rebels  were  ready 
to  receive  us.  The  Fourth  Michigan  Cavalry  formed  the  advance 
guard,  and  pushing  at  a  gallop  dislodged  and  drove  the  enemy 
before  the  column  got  up.  General  Dibrell  fell  back  across  the 
creek  and  took  up  a  strong  position  on  a  hill  covering  a  narrow 
rickety  bridge,  which  was  the  only  means  of  crossing  the  creek  at 
that  point. 

"Finding  a  bad,  rough  ford  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  lower  down, 
I  directed  Captain  Mclntyre  to  cross  with  the  Fourth  Regulars 
and  sharply  attack  the  enemy's  right  flank.  I  then  moved  to  the 
front  with  the  Fourth  Michigan  and  a  battalion  of  the  Third 
Indiana,  but  the  rebels,  although  outnumbering  us  and  holding  a 
strong  position,  difficult  of  access,  would  not  wait  for  the  attack, 
but  scattered  in  every  direction.  The  Fourth  Regulars,  Seventh 
Pennsylvania  and  Third  Indiana  scoured  the  country  for  about 


MAJOR  WILLIAM  PATTON. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  57 

three  miles,  but  their  horses  were  too  tired  to  overtake  the  freshly 
mounted  rebels.  Our  loss,  I  regret  to  say,  was  heavy,  but  it  was 
confined  exclusively  to  the  Fourth  Michigan,  the  only  regiment 
engaged,  and  which  had  only  115  men  out.  We  killed  one  lieu 
tenant  and  thirteen  men,  and  took  one  lieutenant  and  nine  men 
prisoners.  I  remained  at  Sparta  until  1  p.  m.  and  then  returned 
to  camp,  where  I  arrived  at  12  :30  on  the  10th  instant.  Inclosed 
I  hand  you  return  of  casualties. 

"I  am,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"ROBERT  II.  G.  MINTY,  Colonel  Commanding. 

"CAPT.  E.  P.  KENNEDY, 

"Assistant  Adjutant-General  Second  Cavalry  Division." 

On  the  17th  of  August,  1863,  Colonel  Minty  with  his  brigade, 
to  which  the  battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  was  attached, 
left  McMinnville,  Tenn.,  for  Pikeville,  by  way  of  Sparta,  arriving 
at  the  latter  point  at  2  p.  m.,  where,  with  1,400  men,  he  met  and 
fought  General  Dibrell's  brigade  of  rebel  cavalry,  numbering 
1,600  men,  until  after  dark,  driving  them  steadily.  In  the  morn 
ing  the  rebels  had  disappeared.  From  here  Colonel  Minty  moved 
on  to  Pikeville  with  the  main  command,  and  Colonel  Klein  with 
the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  was  sent  to  Rock  Island.  Of  this 
affair  Colonel  Minty  makes  the  following  report  (Vol.  XXX, 
page  920)  : 

"Smiths  Cross  Roads,  Tennessee  Valley,  August  26,  1863. 

"Sir — At  2  a.  m.  on  the  17th,  in  accordance  with  orders  from 
Major-General  Rosecrans,  through  Brigadier-General  VanCleve,  I 
marched  for  Pikeville  by  way  of  Sparta.  I  sent  my  artillery  and 
wagons  direct  with  the  infantry  train.  At  2  p.  m.  my  advance 
struck  General  Dibrell's  pickets  two  miles  from  Sparta.  I  sent 
the  Seventh  Pennsylvania  and  Fourth  Michigan  up  the  east  side 
of  Calfkiller  creek  to  Sperrys  Mill,  where  they  found  Dibrell's 
brigade  and  quickly  drove  it  across  the  creek.  With  the  Third 
Indiana  and  Fourth  Regulars  I  moved  up  the  west  side  of  the 


58  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

creek,  with  the  intention  of  cutting  off  their  retreat,  but  the  nature 
of  the  ground  was  so  much  in  the  enemy's  favor  that  they  had  no 
difficulty  in  escaping.  I  followed  them  to  within  a  short  distance 
of  Yankeetown,  and  then  moved  back  to  Sparta  for  the  purpose  of 
going  into  camp  for  the  night. 

"About  four  miles  above  Sparta  the  road  runs  close  to  the  creek, 
with  a  high  bluff  (thickly  wooded)  on  the  opposite  side.  Here 
about  200  men  lay  in  ambush,  and  as  the  head  of  the  column  was 
passing  they  poured  in  a  volley,  wounding  Lieutenant  Yale,  the 
brigade  inspector,  and  two  of  my  orderlies.  Part  of  the  Fourth 
Michigan  and  one  squadron  of  the  Fourth  Regulars  were  quickly 
dismounted  and  engaged  the  enemy  across  the  creek.  In  an  at 
tempt  to  cross  the  creek  a  little  higher  up,  the  Fourth  Regulars 
lost  eight  men  drowned  and  a  few  wounded.  The  Seventh  Pennsyl 
vania  and  Third  Indiana  crossed  lower  down  and,  with  slight  loss, 
succeeded  in  dislodging  the  rebels.  It  being  now  after  8  o'clock 
and  quite  dark,  I  bivouacked  for  the  night.  In  the  morning  I 
could  find  no  trace  of  the  enemy  except  a  couple  of  them  dead, 
which  the  citizens  were  ordered  to  inter. 

"The  enemy's  force  was  estimated  by  citizens  at  1,500.  I 
placed  it  at  1,200.  Every  foot  of  ground  which  we  fought  over 
was  familiar  to  them.  It  was  wooded,  hilly,  broken,  and  inter 
sected  by  half  a  dozen  branches  of  creeks,  with  plenty  of  good 
positions,  all  of  which  they  were  able  to  take  advantage  of.  My 
force  numbered  about  1,400,  and  the  country  was  to  us  terra 
incognita,  notwithstanding  which  we  drove  them  at  a  gallop.  I 
had  one  man  drowned  and  fifteen  wounded,  including  three  com 
missioned  officers.  I  took  twenty-three  prisoners,  including  one 
lieutenant,  and  representing  four  regiments. 

"I  am,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"ROBERT  H.  G.  MINTY,  Colonel  Commanding." 

According  to  the  official  record  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland 
(Yol.  XXX,  page  179),  Colonel  Minty's  first  brigade  was  part  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  59 

the  Second  Cavalry  Division,  commanded  by  Brig. -Gen.  George 
Crook.  This  was  its  assignment  during  the  Chickamauga  cam 
paign,  and  during  this  great  battle  the  cavalry  was  employed  in 
protecting  the  supply  train  of  the  army,  which  General  Wheeler 
with  10,000  rebel  cavalry  was  endeavoring  to  destroy. 

The  federal  cavalry  succeeded  partially  in  saving  the  trains, 
when  Wheeler  with  his  entire  force  started  on  his  great  raid  in  the 
rear  of  our  armies  entering  the  Sequatchie  Valley.  He  burned 
500  wagons,  going  thence  to  McMinnville  and  Murfreesborough, 
pursued  by  the  federal  cavalry,  which  pursued  and  fought  him  at 
all  points,  until  Wheeler  was  compelled  to  abandon  his  raid  and 
fall  back  on  Bragg' s  main  army  at  Missionary  Ridge  and  Lookout 
Mountain. 

On  the  17th  of  September,  1863  (Vol.  XXX,  page  715),  an 
order  was  issued  from  the  headquarters  of  the  Department  of  the 
Cumberland  as  follows : 

"The  general  commanding  directs  that  Company  I,  Third  In 
diana  Cavalry  be  detached,  until  further  orders,  for  scouting  on 
our  flanks  under  your  instruction.  As  soon  as  it  can  be  spared 
from  that  duty  you  will  order  it  to  report  to  these  headquarters. 

"Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

aW.  MICHAEL,  Major  and  Assistant  Adjutant-General." 

Company  I  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  has  a  history  that  is 
its  own  and  peculiarly  unique.  The  company  was  raised  at 
Knightstown,  Ind.,  by  Will  C.  Moreau,  a  practicing  attorney  of 
that  place,  who  became  its  captain,  with  Tighlman  Fish  as  first 
lieutenant  and  Oliver  Childs  as  second  lieutenant.  It  was  raised 
with  the  intention  of  becoming  the  bodyguard  of  Gen.  A.  Mac- 
Dowell  McCook,  commanding  a  division  of  Buell's  army  in  Ten 
nessee  and  Kentucky.  The  company  was  sworn  in  at  Indianapolis 
and  ordered  to  report  to  General  Buell  at  Louisville,  and  in  obedi 
ence  to  this  order  proceeded  to  Louisville.  But  instead  of  report 
ing  to  General  Buell,  at  once  proceeded  to  Elizabethtown,  Ky., 


60  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

where  General  McCook  was  stationed,  and  reported  to  him.  Gen. 
McCook  at  once  sent  the  company  on  a  scout  to  Buckley's  farm 
on  Green  river,  where  a  large  amount  of  rebel  stores  were  kept  in 
the  barns  of  that  farm.  These  the  company  burned,  and  after  a 
day  or  two  returned  to  General  McCook' s  headquarters  at  Eliza- 
bethtown.  There  the  commander  of  the  company  found  an  order 
commanding  him  to  report  at  once  to  General  Buell  at  Louisville, 
which  order  was  complied  with.  The  company  was  held  there  in 
camp  until  the  army  went  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  where  it  was  de 
tailed  on  provost  duty  in  the  city,  and  was  notf  relieved  from  this 
duty  until  Bragg  invaded  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  when  it  fell 
back  with  the  army  to  Louisville. 

In  September,  1862,  the  company  first  came  under  the  com 
mand  of  Major  Klein,  who  had  been  in  command  of  Companies 
G,  H  and  K.  All  of  the  commissioned  officers  of  the  company  had 
resigned  at  Louisville  on  the  25th  of  January,  1862,  and  in  Febru 
ary,  1862,  T.  B.  Wilkinson  was  made  first  lieutenant  of  the  com 
pany  and  Charles  Hedrick  second  lieutenant,  and  A.  D.  Vanarsdol 
became  captain  of  the  company  on  the  27th  of  February,  1862. 

"When  the  army  of  Buell  moved  out  from  Louisville  in  Septem 
ber,  1862,  in  pursuit  of  Bragg,  who  had  begun  his  retreat  south 
ward,  Company  I  under  Captain  Vanarsdol  went  with  Major  Klein 
to  Nashville,  where  the  company  was  again  detailed  for  provost 
duty  in  that  city,  and  held  there  until  December  25,  1862.  Major 
Klein  complained  of  his  command  being  broken  up,  and  Company 
I  was  relieved  from  provost  duty  in  Nashville  and  joined  him  at 
Triune,  and  was  a  part  of  his  battalion  in  all  the  service  he  per 
formed  until  the  latter  part  of  August,  1863,  at  which  time  Capt. 
Vanarsdol  had  resigned  the  command  of  the  company  and  Capt. 
W.  C.  Moreau  had  returned  to  the  company  recommissioned  as  its 
captain. 

At  this  time,  by  an  order  from  General  Thomas'  headquarters, 
the  company  was  detailed  as  independent  scouts  or  couriers  and 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  61 

detached  from  Major  Klein's  command,  and  began  scouting  the 
country  in  the  vicinity  of  Chattanooga,  accompanied  by  a  young 
man  in  citizens'  clothes,  who  seemed  to  act  as  their  guide,  and  who 
was  known  to  the  men  as  Wilson.  The  company  at  this  time  only 
numbered  thirty  men  for  duty.  About  the  middle  of  September, 
1863,  this  company  in  its  rambles  with  Wilson  stopped  at  Cotton 
Ford,  near  Washington  on  the  Tennessee  river,  for  about  a  week, 
from  which  point  Wilson  was  daily  making  excursions  in  various 
directions  either  alone  or  accompanied  by  two  or  three  men  of 
Company  I.  At  this  point  Captain  Moreau  received  an  order  to 
return  with  his  command  to  Chattanooga.  He  crossed  the  Ten 
nessee  river  at  Cotton  Ford  and,  after  journeying  half  a  day, 
learned  for  the  first  time  that  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  had  been 
fought,  and  that  the  rebel  army  was  between  him  and  Chattanooga. 
And  here  the  shrewdness  and  tact  of  the  man  Wilson  made  itself 
particularly  manifest.  He  was  a  citizen  of  Tennessee  and  had 
been  raised  in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  was  acting  under  the 
directions  of  General  Thomas.  He  was  a  very  bright  young  man. 
He  informed  the  men  that  he  was  entirely  familiar  with  the 
country  and  would  conduct  them  safely  to  the  Union  lines  if  they 
would  follow  his  directions.  To  this  there  was  unanimous  assent, 
and  the  command  continued  its  journey  right  on  up  the  river  in 
the  direction  of  Chattanooga.  About  sundown  they  came  on  to 
two  cavalry  pickets  of  the  rebel  General  Wheeler's  command, 
whom  they  easily  made  prisoners,  as  they  had  no  suspicion  there 
were  any  Union  troops  on  the  Tennessee  river  below  them.  The 
Company  I  men  rode  by  twos  and  the  two  prisoners  were  placed 
between  the  men  comprising  the  second  and  third  files  from  the 
rear,  while  Captain  Moreau  and  Wilson  rode  at  the  head  of  the 
command.  All  knew  when  they  had  captured  rebel  outpost  pickets 
in  the  rear  of  the  rebel  army  that  they  were  within  the  rebel  lines 
and  on  very  dangerous  ground.  But  they  proceeded,  and  coming 
in  sight  of  a  rebel  battery  with  some  infantry  stationed  at  a  small 


62  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

railroad  bridge  directly  along  the  road  they  were  traveling,  the 
command  was  halted.  Wilson  rode  to  a  house  on  the  hillside  over 
looking  the  rebel  camp,  and  requested  a  small  boy  standing  in  the 
yard  to  go  down  and  notify  the  rebel  officers  in  charge  of  the  troops 
they  had  to  pass,  not  to  disturb  a  body  of  cavalry  that  was  coming 
up,  as  they  were  going  to  the  front  to  charge  and  drive  in  the 
"Yankee  pickets."  The  ruse  worked  like  a  charm,  and  they  passed 
the  rebel  artillery  and  infantry  undisturbed,  and  came  on  to  the 
main  body  of  the  rebel  army,  where  the  men  were  cooking  supper 
and  roll  call  was  going  on,  and  everything  incident  to  the  camp  life 
of  a  great  army  full  of  fight. 

Under  ordinary  circumstances  there  was  danger  of  the  prisoners 
riding  between  their  guards  crying  out  at  any  time  and  giving  the 
alarm,  and  thus  subjecting  the  entire  command  to  capture;  but 
Jonathan  Keller,  who  with  Joseph  Higgins  had  charge  of  the 
forward  prisoner,  says  he  carried  his  pistol  in  his  hand,  and  had 
warned  the  man  that  the  moment  he  gave  the  alarm  he  would  kill 
him.  The  presumption  is  that  the  same  warning  had  been  given 
to  the  prisoner  in  the  rear  by  his  guards,  John  H.  Kennedy  and 
Lewis  Micha.  At  any  rate  they  made  no  outcry,  and  as  the  com 
mand  passed  on  rebel  soldiers  frequently  inquired,  "Where  are 
you  going,  boys  ?"  and  the  answer  was  invariably,  "To  the  front 
to  charge  and  drive  in  the  Yankee  pickets,"  and  the  response  would 
come  back,  "That's  right;  give  them  h — 1." 

The  command  went  on  until  General  Wheeler's  headquarters 
were  reached,  when  Wilson,  who  was  conducting  the  expedition, 
seemed  to  be  uncertain  among  so  many  roads  leading  in  every 
direction  which  one  he  should  take  to  reach  the  front  of  the  rebel 
lines.  Standing  in  front  of  General  Wheeler's  tent  was  his  big 
colored  hostler,  whom  Wilson  ordered  to  mount  a  horse  one  of  the 
men  was  leading  and  direct  them  up  the  road  on  which  the  rebels 
were  hauling  their  ammunition,  as  he  seemed  to  realize  that  that 
road  would  lead  to  a  point  on  the  front  of  the  rebel  lines  that  it 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  63 

was  desirable,  under  the  circumstances,  for  his  men  to  reach.  The 
colored  hostler  mounted  the  horse  as  directed,  and  taking  his  place 
beside  Wilson,  proceeded  to  escort  it  as  directed  until  the  rebel 
front  was  reached.  Its  supposed  mission  was  made  known  to  the 
officers  in  command  at  that  point,  and  their  permission  granted 
for  it  to  go  forward,  and  when  outside  the  main  rebel  line,  where  a 
number  of  rebel  sharpshooters  were  stationed  at  various  points, 
Captain  Moreau  gave  the  order,  "Third  Cavalry,  charge/'  and 
away  they  went  in  the  immediate  direction  of  the  Union  lines,  fol 
lowed  by  a  shower  of  bullets  from  the  rebel  sharpshooters,  who 
seemed  to  have  discovered  what  they  were.  They  were  also  greeted 
by  a  similar  shower  from  their  own  men  as  they  were  approaching 
the  Union  lines,  until  Sergt.  Edgar  Henry  dashed  up  to  a  squad 
of  federal  soldiers  and  informed  them  that  they  were  firing  at 
their  own  men,  when  the  firing  ceased,  and  Captain  Moreau  came 
up  and  was  known  to  some  of  the  infantry  officers  on  picket. 

The  only  mishap  that  had  occurred  to  the  command  in  its  ride 
through  the  entire  rebel  army  happened  between  Wheeler's  head 
quarters  and  the  front  of  the  rebel  line,  when  the  prisoner  in  the 
rear,  guarded  by  John  H.  Kennedy  and  Lewis  Micha,  requested 
permission  of  his  guards  to  get  down  and  fix  his  saddle  blanket, 
which  was  granted.  For  this  operation  the  two  guards  and  the 
two  men  in  their  rear,  James  Harney  and  Eobert  Poor,  were 
halted,  and  when  the  saddle  blanket  was  adjusted  the  four  men 
found  themselves  some  distance  in  the  rear  and  separated  from  the 
main  command  in  the  dark,  and  uncertain  as  to  the  direction  in 
which  they  had  gone.  Their  prisoner  told  them  he  knew  the  road, 
and  piloted  them  direct  to  General  Bragg' s  headquarters,  where 
they  were  promptly  taken  in  as  prisoners. 

Captain  Moreau  passed  into  the  Union  lines  with  the  other 
twenty-six  men,  one  prisoner  and  General  Wheeler's  colored 
hostler,  who,  although  scared  almost  to  death,  remained  with 
Lieutenant  Hedrick,  who  became  captain  of  Company  I,  until  the 


64  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

close  of  his  service  in  October,  1864.  Captain  Moreau  reported  to 
General  Thomas,  was  relieved  of  his  command  and  was  no  more 
with  the  company,  its  twenty-six  men  being  placed  under  the  com 
mand  of  Lieutenant  Hedrick.  Jonathan  Keller  says  his  prisoner 
also  made  the  request  that  he  be  allowed  to  stop  and  fix  his  saddle 
blanket,  which  request  was  declined  with  the  announcement  that 
there  would  be  plenty  of  blankets  left  if  the  prisoner  lost  his. 

While  on  this  detail  and  after  its  perilous  ride  through  Bragg' s 
army  on  the  battlefield  of  Chickamauga,  Company  I  with  its 
twenty-six  men  under  Lieutenant  Hedrick  was  dispatched  by  Gen. 
Thomas  to  establish  a  courier  line  between  Chattanooga  and 
Bridgeport.  When  they  reached  Bridgeport  General  Wheeler  with 
all  his  cavalry  force  had  crossed  the  Tennessee  at  Cotton  Ford 
below  Chickamauga,  moved  up  into  the  Sequatchie  Valley,  at 
tacked  and  captured  500  wagons  of  the  supply  train  of  the  Union 
army,  recrossed  the  Tennessee  at  Bridgeport  and  was  creating 
havoc  among  the  supply  trains  and  the  troops  guarding  them 
around  Bridgeport.  Between  that  point  and  Chattanooga  Lieut. 
Hedrick  and  all  of  his  men  but  twelve  were  captured  by  the  rebels 
but  escaped,  and  after  this  joined  the  remainder  of  the  Western 
battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Klein, 
and  went  with  it  to  East  Tennessee,  where  Burnsides  was  engaged 
with  Longstreet  at  Knoxville. 

The  record  shows  that  Lewis  Micha  and  James  Harney,  two  of 
the  men  captured  on  the  night  Company  I  rode  through  Bragg's 
army,  died  at  Andersonville,  the  former  on  the  15th  of  February, 
1864,  and  the  latter  July  18,  1864,  and  James  Higgins  died  at 
Danville,  Va.,  February  15,  1864. 

The  official  record  (Vol.  XXX,  Part  3,  page  836,  dated  Sep 
tember  24,  1863)  shows  Lieutenant-Colonel  Klein  at  Pikeville, 
Tenn.,  with  his  detachment  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  and  on 
the  31st  of  October,  1863  (Vol.  XXXI,  page  809),  the  detach 
ment  is  still  shown  to  be  with  the  brigade  commanded  by  Colonel 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  65 

Minty.  The  next  mention  we  have  is  that  the  detachment  is  with 
Brig.-Gen.  James  G.  Spears'  forces  at  Loundon,  Tenn.,  on  the  3d 
of  December,  1863,  where  it  had  gone  from  Kingston.  On  this 
march  General  Spears'  command  encountered  2,000  of  Wheeler's 
cavalry  under  Colonel  Hart,  and  there  was  some  fighting  but  not 
serious,  as  the  enemy  fell  back,  leaving  six  pieces  of  artillery  in 
General  Spears'  hands. 


CHAPTER  III. 

After  the  battle  of  Fredricksburg  in  December,  1862,  and  a 
second  attempt  by  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  move  on  the  enemy 
later  in  the  winter,  and  which  simply  resulted  in  its  sticking  in  the 
mud,  the  conclusion  was  irresistible  that  an  army  encamped  on 
either  side  of  the  Rappahannock  river  during  the  months  of  De 
cember,  January,  February,  March  and  April  was  so  thoroughly 
encased  in  mud  that  any  important  movement  was  practically  im 
possible,  and  both  armies  settled  down  to  the  simple  task  of  watch 
ing  each  other. 

Cavalry  could  get  about  after  a  fashion,  and  the  Eastern  bat 
talion  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  took  its  turn  with  the  Eighth 
Illinois  and  Eighth  New  York  in  picketing  the  right  flank  of  the 
army  in  the  vicinity  of  Dumfries  and  Quantico  creek  until  about 
the  middle  of  April.  At  this  time  the  brigade  to  which  it  be 
longed,  under  command  of  Colonel  Davis,  of  the  Eighth  New 
York,  moved  up  the  Rappahannock  to  the  vicinity  of  Warrentown, 
where  it  confronted  the  confederate  cavalry  watching  the  ap 
proaches  to  the  left  flank  of  Lee's  army.  Every  move  of  either 
resulted  in  some  kind  of  an  encounter  with  the  other. 

Colonel  Davis7  brigade  crossed  the  Rappahannock  on  April  15 
at  Beverly  Ford  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  reconnoissance,  and 
on  the  return  the  rear  guard,  consisting  of  Companies  E  and  F 
of  the  Third  Indiana,  was  charged  by  a  much  superior  force  of 
the  enemy,  and  twenty  men,  including  Lieutenant  Shannon,  of 
Company  E,  were  captured  with  their  horses. 

In  the  record  we  find  no  report  by  any  federal  officer  of  this 
affair  save  the  mention  of  the  loss  in  men,  horses  and  arms.  But 
at  page  88,  Vol.  XXV,  Part  1,  we  find  a  rather  accurate  account 

66 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  67 

(as  far  as  it  goes)  by  R.  L.  T.  Beale,  colonel  commanding  Ninth 
Virginia  (confederate)  Cavalry. 

"April  21,  1863. 

"I  submit  report  of  the  part  taken  by  this  command  in  the 
skirmishing  on  the  Rappahannock  on  the  14th  and  15th  instant, 
together  with  casualties  and  captures.  On  the  14th  one  company, 
under  command  of  Capt.  Stith  Boiling,  held  the  ford  at  Kelleys 
Mills,  and  repulsed,  with  some  loss  to  the  enemy,  an  attempt  to 
cross  with  a  force  of  two  or  more  regiments.  Another  company 
(under  the  immediate  command  of  Capt.  John  W.  Hungerford), 
under  Lieut. -Col.  M.  Lewis,  held  the  ford  at  Beverly  Mills.  The 
balance  were  engaged  in  watching  the  enemy  at  Rappahannock 
Bridge  and  re-establishing  the  pickets  driven  out  in  the  morning. 

"On  the  15th  the  enemy,  having  crossed  in  large  force  at  the 
ford  above,  flanked  that  portion  of  the  command  under  Lieut. -Col. 
Lewis  and  came  down  upon  them  by  surprise.  The  coolness  and 
admirable  maneuvering  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lewis  and  Lieut. 
G.  W.  Beale  in  command  of  the  sharpshooters  (dismounted),  alone 
saved  the  little  band.  By  boldly  charging  the  advance,  the  dis 
mounted  men  were  successfully  extricated  from  a  position  of  great 
danger.  The  whole  command  in  the  evening  supported  Col.  J.  R. 
Chambliss,  Jr.,  in  a  charge  upon  the  retreating  foe,  captured 
one  first  lieutenant  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  also  ten  pri 
vates,  ten  horses,  ten  carbines  and  seven  pistols.  Our  casualties 
were  one  private  Company  A  killed,  one  private  Company  K 
missing  (supposed  to  be  captured),  two  horses  killed,  one  wounded 
and  twelve  horses  captured.  The  conduct  of  the  officers  and  men 
merits  the  highest  commendation. 

"R.  L.  T.  BEALE,  Colonel  Commanding. 

"Brig.-Gen.  W.  H.  F.  LEE." 

Notwithstanding  the  statement  of  Colonel  Beale  in  regard  to 
this  affair,  nineteen  men  of  Companies  E  and  F,  Third  Indiana 
Cavalry,  were  captured  and  taken  to  Richmond.  When  they  were 


68  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

conducted  to  General  Fitzhugh  Lee's  headquarters  that  officer  re 
marked  to  Lieut.  A.  L.  Shannon,  one  of  the  unfortunates :  "Lieu 
tenant,  it  is  on  to  Kichmond  now  sure  enough."  But  a  part  of  the 
history  of  the  affair  is  that  by  the  middle  of  the  following  summer 
the  men  were  all  exchanged  and  back  with  their  companies  doing 
duty  as  usual. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  men  who  made  that  trip  to  Rich 
mond,  viz. :  Company  E,  Lieut.  A.  L.  Shannon,  Sergt.  John  P. 
Mathews,  James  McClain,  David  Cochran,  William  H.  Stapp, 
John  R.  B.  Glasscock,  George  W.  Lewis,  John  Naughton,  George 
W.  Pearson,  Mathew  Glauber,  James  Graham;  Company  F,  W. 
B.  Downey,  Daniel  Ely,  Daniel  Ecklor,  Fred  Erie,  Stephen  Good- 
pasture,  Monroe  Payton,  Jonas  Sugden  and  John  O.  Martin. 

As  a  member  of  Company  F  the  writer  has  a  very  distinct  recol 
lection  of  this  affair.  The  squadron  was  the  rear  guard  of  Colonel 
Davis'  brigade,  and  had  rendezvoused  at  an  old  blacksmith  shop, 
which  had  been  a  rebel  picket  post,  waiting  for  the  outpost  vidette 
to  come  in.  It  had  been  raining  hard  since  early  morning  and  a 
ravine  that  passed  this  old  blacksmith  shop  was  flowing  full  with 
a  raging  torrent  of  water.  The  command  formed  on  the  side  of 
this  ravine  next  to  the  Rappahannock,  and  about  one-half  mile 
from  the  ford  of  that  stream  where  the  brigade  had  crossed. 

The  Ninth  Virginia,  several  times  as  strong  as  we  were,  came 
down  over  a  hill  from  the  west  with  drawn  sabers,  yelling  like 
Commanche  Indians,  calling  us  ugly  names  and  demanding  our 
surrender.  At  the  command  of  Major  McClure,  commanding  the 
squadron,  we  gave  them  a  volley  from  our  carbines,  but  they 
plunged  through  the  stream,  which  we  had  supposed,  with  our 
volley,  would  check  them.  Then  began  a  race  of  rebels  and 
Yankees  mingled  in  indescribable  confusion,  all  heading  for  that 
ford  on  the  Rappahannock  half  a  mile  away.  It  was  in  that  race 
most  of  the  captures  were  made. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  69 

In  the  old  blacksmith  shop  Jonas  Sugden,  of  Company  F,  had 
captured  and  confiscated  a  rebel  haversack  containing  a  very  fine 
hunk  of  boiled  corn  beef,  and  was  gloating  over  his  good  luck,  but 
in  less  than  five  minutes  later  he  was  a  prisoner  on  his  way  to 
Richmond.  History  does  not  record  who  ate  the  corn  beef. 

Lieutenant  Shannon,  of  Company  E,  and  W.  B.  Downey,  of 
Company  F,  outpost  videttes,  had  been  cut  off  and,  hiding  their 
horses  in  a  thicket,  were  engaged  in  constructing  a  raft  to  cross 
the  Rappahannock,  which  was  unfordable  at  the  point  where  they 
had  struck  it,  and  while  thus  engaged  the  rebels  found  them  and 
their  horses  and  they  became  a  part  of  the  Richmond  delegation. 
The  other  captures  were  made  by  the  rebels  seizing  bridle  reins 
and  hauling  in  the  riders  of  horses  thus  held  up.  Those  of  us 
who  were  able  to  outrun  the  rebels  leaped  over  the  bank  of  the 
river  wherever  we  struck  it,  with  the  rebels  all  mixed  up  with  us, 
and  there  the  rebels  began  sheathing  their  sabers  and  drawing 
their  pistols  to  shoot  us  in  the  water.  But  here  good  luck  came  to 
our  rescue.  A  number  of  our  command  who  had  already  crossed 
the  river  took  in  the  situation,  turned  loose  a  volley  from  their 
carbines  upon  our  pursuers  as  they  were  forming  and  getting  ready 
to  shoot  us  as  we  struggled  in  the  river.  They  fled  in  confusion, 
leaving  us  unhurt.  Isaac  Higgins,  of  Company  F,  was  captured 
by  having  his  bridle  rein  seized  by  a  rebel  cavalryman  near  the 
river  bank  some  distance  below  the  ford.  While  being  led  away 
captive,  his  pistol,  cocked,  was  held  by  him  under  his  coat  cape, 
and  in  an  unguarded  moment  he  shot  his  captor,  whirled  his  horse 
and  leaped  into  the  river  and  escaped. 

A  few  days  later  the  entire  cavalry  force  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  except  a  brigade  supposed  to  be  the  least  efficient  of  the 
force,  left  in  camp  near  Falmouth  under  General  Pleasanton, 
again  crossed  the  Rappahannock  under  command  of  General 
Stoneman,  who  had  been  placed  at  the  head  of  what  was  desig 
nated  as  the  Cavalry  Corps  after  General  Hooker  took  command 


70  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

and  reorganized  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  March,  1863.  This 
cavalry  movement  of  General  Stoneman' s  is  known  in  history  as 
the  Stoneman  raid  and  was  designed  to  move  towards  Richmond 
and  destroy  the  Orange  &  Alexandria  railroad,  over  which  supplies 
were  shipped  to  Lee's  army  lying  south  of  the  Rappahannock  at 
Fredricksburg. 

General  Stoneman  divided  his  force  after  crossing  the  Rappa 
hannock,  leading  the  main  body  of  his  force  in  person  as  far  as 
the  defenses  of  Richmond,  where  he  destroyed  considerable  stores 
and  crippled  the  operations  of  the  railroad  for  a  few  days ;  while 
Colonel  Davis'  brigade,  to  which  the  Eastern  battalion  of  the 
Third  Indiana  belonged,  with  one  other  brigade,  was  left  at  the 
bridge  where  the  Orange  &  Alexandria  road  crossed  the  Rapidan 
river,  under  command  of  Gen.  W.  W.  Averill.  This  force  skir 
mished  one  whole  day  with  a  body  of  rebel  cavalry  at  that  point, 
both  sides  using  their  artillery  and  making  dashes  at  each  other. 
Both  tried  to  burn  the  railroad  bridge,  each  always  succeeded  in 
driving  the  other  off,  so  that  all  attempts  in  that  direction  were 
ineffective.  After  the  day's  skirmishing  was  over  both  forces  went 
on  picket,  facing  each  other.  Captain  Gresham,  of  Company  B, 
Third  Indiana,  was  seriously  wounded  while  posting  his  men  on 
picket  too  near  the  enemy. 

On  the  following  day  this  force  moved  down  the  Rapidan,  and 
as  the  day  progressed  the  booming  of  distant  guns  became  more  fre 
quent,  and  before  we  reached  Elys  Ford,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Rapidan,  about  nightfall,  the  almost  continuous  roar  of  artillery 
and  volleys  of  musketry  indicated  to  us  that  we  were  approaching 
the  scene  of  a  great  battle. 

It  was  twilight  when  we  reached  Elys  Ford,  and  hundreds  of 
the  men  riding  horses,  weary  with  their  day's  march,  plunged  into 
the  stream  to  water  them,  when  a  volley  of  musketry  from  the 
opposite  side  of  the  Rapidan,  which  overshot  our  men,  caused  a 
great  scampering  out  of  the  stream  and  over  the  hill  to  a  place  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  71 

safety.  This  was  our  introduction  to  the  battle  of  Chancellors- 
ville,  which  had  been  on  since  the  1st  of  May.  Our  command  had 
been  rambling  around  through  fields  and  woods,  shut  off  from  com 
munication  with  the  world,  many  days,  and  knew  nothing  of  what 
was  going  on,  at  least  so  far  as  the  rank  and  file  was  concerned. 
An  opening  between  the  right  flank  of  Hooker's  army  and  Elys 
Ford  of  the  Rapidan  had  been  left  unguarded,  and  a  brigade  of 
rebel  infantry  had  moved  down  into  it,  and  that  was  the  force  that 
fired  into  our  men  when  they  hurriedly  entered  the  stream  to  water 
their  horses.  It  was  not  regarded  as  good  generalship  that  this 
should  be  permitted  to  happen,  and  General  Averill  was  relieved 
of  his  command  and  placed  under  arrest. 

Early  in  the  day  following  this  incident  the  battle  of  Chan- 
cellorsville  was  renewed  in  all  its  fury,  the  roar  of  artillery  and 
the  crash  of  volleys  of  musketry  being  almost  constant,  and  our 
body  of  cavalry  stood  in  line  all  forenoon,  ready  to  move  at  an 
instant's  notice.  We  did  not  receive  such  an  order  until  about 
noon,  when  we  crossed  the  Rapidan  at  the  ford  where  we  had  been 
fired  into  the  night  before,  went  up  the  slope  and  joined  the  main 
army,  through  the  lines  of  the  First  Army  Corps,  under  General 
Reynolds,  where  the  men  had  been  fighting  all  day. 

We  formed  in  the  rear  of  this  force  with  artillery  and  remained 
there  two  days  and  until  2  o'clock  of  the  second  night,  when  an 
order  was  given  to  move,  we  knew  not  where.  But  we  had  not 
gone  far  until  we  knew  our  horses  were  treading  on  brush,  laid  upon 
a  pontoon  bridge  to  deaden  sound,  and  that  this  bridge  crossed  the 
Rappahannock.  At  daylight  we  halted  and  were  overlooking  Fal- 
mouth  and  Fredricksburg.  From  that  point  we  moved  up  the 
river  and  soon  met  army  wagons,  batteries  of  artillery,  long  lines 
of  infantry,  and  without  knowing  what  had  happened,  we  felt  very 
certain  the  army  of  the  Potomac  was  on  a  different  side  of  the 
river  from  where  it  had  been  fighting  the  enemy. 


72  HlSTOKY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

We  moved  on  northward  into  the  pine  forests  bordering  the  Rap 
pahannock,  apparently  away  from  all  communication  with  the 
main  army,  and  had  little  knowledge  of  the  particulars  of  what 
had  happened  for  more  than  a  week,  when  the  command  returned 
to  Falmouth  and  found  the  entire  Army  of  the  Potomac  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river,  where  it  had  been  all  winter.  From  Wash 
ington  papers  received  that  day  we  learned  that  the  Union  army 
had  been  defeated  in  a  great  battle,  which  in  history  was  to  be 
called  Chancellorsville.  The  whole  country  knew  all  about  it  a 
week  before,  but  thousands  of  men  on  the  ground,  by  the  process 
here  described,  were  kept  in  almost  total  ignorance  of  what  had 
happened. 

The  cavalry  force  under  General  Stoneman  perhaps  accom 
plished  all  that  was  expected  of  it,  but  the  remarkable  thing  in  the 
history  of  that  great  battle  is  that  General  Pleasanton,  who  had 
been  our  commander  in  the  Maryland  campaign  of  the  previous 
year,  but  for  some  cause  was  left  in  the  rear  in  charge  of  the  con 
valescent  camp  at  the  opening  of  Hooker's  campaign  of  1863, 
appeared  on  the  battlefield  of  Chancellorsville  with  all  his  effec 
tive  force,  especially  the  Eighth  and  Seventeenth  Pennsylvania 
Cavalry  regiments,  and  by  his  service  in  that  great  battle  achieved 
renown  that  placed  him  among  the  foremost  cavalry  leaders  of  the 
war.  The  charge  of  Major  Randall  with  a  part  of  the  Eighth 
Pennsylvania,  which  was  a  part  of  Pleasanton's  command,  is  re 
corded  in  history  as  one  of  the  most  splendid  achievements  of  the 
great  battle  of  Chancellorsville. 

With  the  close  of  that  conflict  Stoneman  disappeared  from  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  and  Pleasanton  became  commander  of  the 
Cavalry  Corps  by  right  of  conquest.  The  army  lay  in  camp  rest 
ing  up  until  the  early  days  of  June,  and  then,  with  Pleasanton's 
cavalry  in  the  lead,  moved  northward  along  the  Rappahannock  to 
the  Orange  &  Alexandria  railroad.  On  the  9th  of  June  Colonel 
Davis'  brigade  of  Buford's  division  crossed  the  Rappahannock  at 


GEORGE  MIDDLETON,  Co.  E.— AT  16. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  73 

Kelleys  Ford,  where  it  encountered  the  enemy's  cavalry,  which 
it  fought  all  day  and  drove  back  on  to  its  infantry  lines,  and  dis 
closed  the  fact  that  Lee's  army  was  also  moving  northward  behind 
the  mountains  of  Virginia,  heading  for  Maryland  and  Pennsyl 
vania.  In  this  engagement  Colonel  Davis,  of  the  Eighth  New 
York  Cavalry,  who  commanded  the  brigade,  was  killed  early  in 
the  day,  and  the  command  of  the  brigade  devolved  upon  Major 
McClure,  commanding  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  who  by  the 
death  of  Colonel  Davis  became  the  senior  officer  of  the  brigade. 
Colonel  Davis  was  an  officer  of  the  regular  army,  a  strict  disci 
plinarian,  and  in  the  Maryland  campaign,  particularly  at  Harpers 
Ferry,  where  he  declined  to  have  the  Eighth  New  York  Cavalry 
included  in  General  Miles'  surrender  of  13,000  men  to  Stonewall 
Jackson  and  cut  his  way  out,  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  sub 
ordinate  cavalry  commanders  of  the  army. 

For  that  day's  work  he  was  made  a  major  in  the  regular  army, 
and  had  he  lived  no  doubt  he  would  have  attained  the  highest  rank 
in  the  cavalry  arm  of  the  service.  As  his  successor  on  the  battle 
field  of  Kelleys  Ford,  Major  McClure  proved  himself  well  fitted 
for  the  place,  and  at  nightfall  drew  off  his  brigade  to  the  north 
side  of  the  Rappahannock,  having  most  successfully  accomplished 
the  business  of  the  expedition,  which  was  a  reconnoissance  in  force 
for  the  purpose  of  developing  the  movements  and  purposes  of  the 
enemy. 

A  part  of  the  work  of  the  9th  of  June  at  Kelleys  Ford  was  the 
capture  of  400  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  and  the  disclosure  of  the 
fact  that  Lee's  army  was  moving  in  full  force  behind  the 
mountains,  heading  its  course  for  Pennsylvania  with  a  determina 
tion  to  carry  the  war  into  his  enemy's  country.  His  cavalry,  under 
Generals  Stewart  and  Fitzhugh  Lee,  were  in  advance  and  actively 
engaged  in  keeping  their  chief  advised  as  to  the  movements  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac. 


74  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

Hooker,  with  the  entire  army,  was  now  moving  northward  on 
a  line  parallel  with  the  line  upon  which  Lee  was  moving,  and  at 
every  gap  in  the  mountains  until  the  Potomac  river  was  reached 
the  cavalry  forces  of  the  two  armies  were  engaged  in  almost  daily 
conflicts.  In  all  the  encounters  the  Eastern  battalion  of  the  Third 
Indiana  Cavalry  was  having  its  full  share. 

Colonel  Chapman  had  returned  from  a  furlough  and  resumed 
command,  and  General  Merritt  succeeded  Colonel  Davis  in  com 
mand  of  the  brigade,  which  was  known  as  the  First  Brigade  of  the 
First  Division  of  the  Cavalry  Corps,  commanded  by  Gen.  John 
B.  Buford,  and  comprised  the  Eighth  Illinois,  the  Eighth  New 
York,  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  and  four  companies  of  the  Twelfth 
Illinois. 

After  the  fight  at  Kelleys  Ford  on  successive  days,  in  the  for 
ward  movement,  the  brigade  engaged  the  enemy's  cavalry  at  Mid- 
dletown,  Upperville  and  Aldie.  Near  the  latter  place  Lieut. 
William  W.  Long,  of  Company  C,  was  captured  while  going  to 
deliver  a  message  and  running  into  the  enemy's  cavalry  upon  his 
return,  so  shifting  were  the  movements  of  this  active  march.  The 
brigade  camped  on  the  bank  of  the  Potomac  on  the  night  of  the 
26th  of  June,  and  on  the  following  day  crossed  into  Maryland  as 
the  vanguard  of  the  army. 

Of  the  engagement  of  the  9th  of  June,  1863,  Maj.  W.  S.  Mc- 
Clure,  of  the  Third  Indiana,  commanding  First  Brigade,  First 
Division,  made  the  following  report  (Vol.  XXVII,  page  1047, 
Part  1)  : 

"Headquarters  Third  Indiana  Cavalry, 
"Camp  Near  Catletts  Station,  Va.,  June  12,  1863. 

"Lieutenant — I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report 
of  the  operations  of  this  command,  and  also  of  the  First  Brigade 
of  the  First  Cavalry  Division,  of  which  I  assumed  command  after 
the  fall  of  Col.  B.  F.  Davis: 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  75 

"At  4 :30  a.  m.  the  brigade  inarched  from  the  camp  of  the  night, 
distance  from  the  river  one-half  mile,  under  command  of  Col.  B. 
F.  Davis,  of  the  Eighth  New  York  Cavalry,  in  advance,  supported 
by  the  Eighth  Illinois  Cavalry,  and  my  command,  composed  of  one 
battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  one  squadron  of  the  Third 
(West)  Virginia  Cavalry,  and  one  battalion  of  the  Ninth  New 
York  Cavalry.  Before  reaching  the  ford  two  squadrons  of  the 
Sixth  New  York  Cavalry  were  detached  and  sent  forward  to  sur 
prise  and  capture  any  of  the  enemy's  pickets  at  the  ford;  these, 
dashing  over,  secured  the  ford  after  a  sharp  engagement.  Closely 
following  came  the  brigade.  Advancing,  we  soon  gained  a  large 
body  of  timber,  where  the  Eighth  New  York  Cavalry,  squadrons 
of  which  were  deployed  as  skirmishers,  met  a  large  force  of  the 
enemy,  and,  wavering,  finally  fell  back  before  them. 

"It  was  at  this  critical  juncture,  and  while  trying  to  rally  his 
men,  that  the  lamented  Col.  B.  F.  Davis  fell  mortally  wounded. 
Captain  Clark,  commanding  the  Eighth  Illinois  Cavalry,  imme 
diately  charged  the  enemy,  while  my  command  was  formed  on 
the  right  of  the  road  to  protect  and  support  the  charging  column. 
Here  Captain  Clark  was  wounded,  and  the  command  devolved 
upon  Captain  For sy the,  who  also  was  shortly  after  wounded. 
Under  the  most  unfavorable  circumstances,  and  while  considerable 
confusion  prevailed,  I  received  orders  to  assume  command  of  the 
brigade.  By  order  of  General  Buford,  I  moved  my  command  to 
the  left,  he  occupying  the  right,  and  checked  a  large  body  of  the 
enemy  advancing  in  column  of  squadrons.  With  some  difficulty  I 
succeeded  about  6 :30  a.  m.  in  forming  my  command  in  close  col 
umn  of  squadrons  on  the  left  of  the  road  and  in  the  timber.  Im 
mediately  the  Eighth  Illinois  Cavalry  was  detached  by  order  of 
General  Pleasanton,  and  I  saw  no  more  of  them  during  the  day. 
Colonel  Devin  coming  up,  ordered  me  to  retain  command.  By 
7  a.  m.  the  enemy  was  reported  advancing  in  two  heavy  lines  of 
skirmishers,  supported  by  about  two  regiments.  I  immediately 


76  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

ordered  Major  Lemon,  now  in  command  of  the  Third  Indiana 
Cavalry,  to  deploy  to  the  left  one  squadron,  and  Captain  Hanley, 
of  the  Ninth  New  York,  to  move  his  squadron  to  the  extreme  left 
to  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  The  other  squadron,  under 
Major  Patton,  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  was  dismounted  and  sent 
out  as  skirmishers. 

"At  8 :30,  the  enemy  continuing  to  advance  slowly,  Colonel 
Devin  ordered  one  section  of  Robertson's  battery  up.  Finding 
no  suitable  position,  they  gave  us  little  aid.  The  enemy  continuing 
to  advance  and  inclining  to  my  left  and  rear,  I  ordered  Major 
Pope,  of  the  Eighth  New  York,  to  deploy  one  squadron  of  his 
regiment  so  as  to  connect  Captain  Hanley  on  the  left  with  Majors 
Patton  and  Lemon.  To  this  line  I  gave  two  more  squadrons  for 
support.  For  a  time  the  advance  of  the  enemy  was  checked,  but  by 
9  :30  he  began  to  advance  rapidly,  driving  my  skirmishers  up  to 
the  guns,  which,  without  orders,  the  officer  in  command  sent  to  the 
rear.  While  the  guns  were  retiring  and  the  enemy  advancing, 
Maj.  W.  B.  Martin,  Ninth  New  York,  charged  with  the  remaining 
squadron  of  his  battalion,  forcing  the  enemy  to  fall  back  and 
taking  some  prisoners.  He  himself  was  wounded  and  retired  from 
the  field,  leaving  Captain  Ayres  in  command.  Immediately  I 
caused  our  lines  to  be  advanced.  The  enemy  fell  back  rapidly, 
and  by  noon  we  were  in  complete  possession  of  the  whole  timber, 
and  the  lines  were  advancing  in  the  open  field  beyond,  supported 
by  the  whole  command  moving  in  column  of  fours.  The  rear  of 
the  enemy  was  charged  by  Lieut.  L.  C.  Wilson,  in  command  of 
Company  F  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  who  captured  a  few 
prisoners. 

"Finding  that  the  enemy  was  massing  a  large  force  in  advance 
and  a  little  to  the  right,  I  halted  the  columns  until  a  section  of 
artillery  joined  us.  Again  advancing  until  the  road  by  which 
Gen.  Gregg  joined  us  was  reached,  the  guns  were  placed  in  posi 
tion  and  the  command  formed  in  line  and  column  of  squadrons 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  77 

to  support  the  guns  and  skirmishers.  In  this  position  we  remained 
until  about  3  p.  m.  under  the  fire  of  three  of  the  enemy's  guns, 
when,  General  Gregg  having  come  up,  we  were  ordered  to  the  rear  to 
protect  the  recrossing  of  General  Buford.  Before  General  Buford 
had  recrossed,  I  was  ordered  to  his  side.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Clen- 
dennin,  of  the  Eighth  Illinois  Cavalry,  being  present,  I  immedi 
ately  turned  over  the  command  to  him,  to  whom  the  regimental 
reports  were  made.  In  consequence  I  can  furnish  no  list  of  cas 
ualties  in  the  command,  nor  can  I  mention  instances  of  bravery 
and  ability  which  came  under  my  immediate  notice,  without,  per 
haps,  injustice  to  others  equally  deserving.  Yet  I  would  not  omit 
to  mention  Captain  Foote  and  Lieutenant  Cutler,  of  the  Eighth 
New  York,  who  fell  mortally  wounded  just  before  we  gained  pos 
session  of  the  timber.  At  the  same  time  my  adjutant,  Gam.  S. 
Taylor,  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  and  Lieutenant  Herrick,  of  the 
Ninth  New  York,  were  slightly  wounded. 
aVery  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"W.   S.   McCLURE, 

"Major  Commanding  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  and  Detachment  of 
Ninth  New  York  and  Third  (West)  Virginia  Cavalry. 
"Lieut.  J.  H.  MAHNKIN,  Acting  Assistant  Adjutant-General." 
One  officer  and  twenty-two  enlisted  men  of  the  Third  Indiana 
Cavalry  were  wounded  in  this  engagement. 

These  June  days  of  1863  were  strenuous  ones  for  the  cavalry 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  It  had  been  disclosed  by  the  battle 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Rappahannock  that  Lee's  army  was  moving 
towards  Pennsylvania,  behind  that  river  and  the  mountains.  The 
enemy  seemed  to  be  anxious  to  know  what  the  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac  was  doing  to  counteract  this  movement.  They  came  through 
the  mountains  in  force  at  Snickersville  Pass  and  took  position  at 
Middleburg  and  Upperville.  General  Buford,  commanding  the 
First  Division  of  the  Cavalry  Corps,  makes  his  report  of  the  opera 
tions  at  that  time  at  page  920,  Vol.  XXVII,  Part  1.  He  says: 


78  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

"I  was  ordered  to  Middleburg  on  the  night  of  the  21st  and 
reached  there  shortly  after  daylight,  and  started  to  turn  the 
enemy's  flank.  I  took  Colonel  Gamble's  and  Colonel  Devin's 
brigades  and  pushed  for  Upperville.  My  advance  was  disputed 
pretty  warmly  by  the  enemy,  but  he  made  no  stand  save  with  his 
skirmishers.  These  were  severely  punished. 

"When  a  mile  from  Upperville,  I  saw  a  large  force  in  front  of 
General  Gregg,  who  appeared  to  be  outnumbered.  I  resolved  to  go 
to  his  aid.  The  column  struck  a  brisk  trot,  but  ran  afoul  of  so 
many  obstructions  in  the  shape  of  ditches  and  stone  fences  that  it 
did  not  make  fast  progress  and  got  out  of  shape.  While  in  this 
position,  I  discovered  a  train  of  wagons  and  a  few  troops  to  my 
right  marching  at  a  trot,  apparently  making  for  Ashbys  Gap.  I 
turned  the  head  of  my  column  towards  them  and  very  soon  became 
engaged  with  a  superior  force.  The  enemy  brought  four  twelve- 
pounder  guns  into  position  and  made  some  excellent  practice  on 
the  heads  of  my  regiments  as  they  came  up.  The  gunners  were 
driven  from  the  guns,  which  would  have  fallen  into  our  hands  but 
for  two  impassable  stone  fences.  The  enemy  then  came  up  in 
magnificent  style  from  the  direction  of  Snickersville  and  for  a 
time  threatened  me  with  overwhelming  numbers.  He  was  com 
pelled,  however,  to  retire  before  the  terrific  carbine  fire  which  the 
brave  Eighth  Illinois  and  Third  Indiana  poured  into  him.  As  he 
withdrew  my  rear  troops  came  up,  formed  and  pressed  him  back 
to  the  mountains.  He  was  driven  over  the  mountains  into  the 
valley." 

The  casualties  of  the  Third  Indiana  in  this  battle  were  four 
men  wounded  and  one  missing,  and  eighteen  horses  killed. 

On  the  22d  of  June,  1863,  the  day  following  this  engagement, 
Col.  William  Gamble,  of  the  Eighth  Illinois  Cavalry,  commanding 
the  brigade,  made  the  following  report  (Vol.  XXVII,  Part  1, 
page  932)  : 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  79 

"Captain — I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  part  taken  by  this 
brigade  in  the  cavalry  fight  of  yesterday.  The  brigade,  composed 
of  the  Eighth  New  York,  Eighth  Illinois,  three  squadrons  Third 
Indiana  and  two  squadrons  Twelfth  Illinois  Cavalry,  with  one  sec 
tion  of  the  First  U.  S.  Artillery  under  Lieut.  Michalowski,  in  all 
about  1,600  strong,  left  Aldie  at  5  a.  m.,  marched  to  Middleburg; 
from  thence  west  across  a  ford  at  Goose  creek,  the  rebel  skirmishers 
occupying  the  opposite  bank  under  cover  of  a  stone  wall  at  the 
ford.  One  squadron  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  was  dis 
mounted,  and,  with  advance  guard  deployed,  drove  the  rebels  from 
the  opposite  bank,  when  the  column  crossed  and  advanced  south 
on  the  Upperville  road.  Encountered  the  enemy  one  mile  from 
the  ford,  on  the  right  of  the  road ;  deployed  in  column  in  line  of 
battle,  and  a  few  well  directed  shells  into  the  enemy  dispersed 
him  rapidly  in  retreat  through  the  woods  southward.  One  mile 
farther  I  found  the  enemy  behind  stone  walls,  near  a  house ;  a  few 
more  shells  drove  them  again  towards  Upperville.  Two  miles 
farther,  the  enemy's  skirmishers,  supported  by  artillery,  were 
found  strongly  posted.  I  deployed  the  column  in  line,  advanced 
and  drove  the  enemy  from  two  strong  positions  behind  stone  walls, 
his  guns  continually  throwing  shells  at  us.  We  continued  the 
march  and  found  the  enemy  strongly  posted  west  of  Upperville, 
at  the  base  of  the  mountain.  The  Eighth  Illinois,  Third  Indiana 
and  Twelfth  Illinois  Cavalry,  about  900  strong,  leading  the  col 
umn,  came  on  rapidly  at  a  gallop,  formed  in  line,  charged  upon  the 
enemy's  five  guns  amid  a  shower  of  shells,  shrapnel  and  case 
shot,  drove  the  rebel  gunners  from  their  pieces,  when  the 
enemy's  cavalry,  seven  regiments  strong,  emerged  from  the 
woods,  and  a  hand  to  hand  conflict  ensued,  the  enemy  out 
numbering  us  three  to  one.  We  retired  a  short  distance 
behind  a  stone  wall  and  maintained  our  position,  repuls 
ing  the  repeated  charges  of  the  enemy  by  well  directed  car 
bine  and  pistol  firing.  The  enemy  then,  on  account  of  his  superior 


80  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

numbers,  attempted  to  turn  both  flanks,  when  a  squadron  of  the 
Eighth  Illinois  and  one  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  were  de 
ployed  to  cover  the  flanks,  and,  after  a  sharp  conflict  repulsed  the 
enemy;  after  which  the  section  of  artillery  arrived,  supported  by 
the  Eighth  New  York  Cavalry,  and  shelled  the  enemy  from  his 
position.  The  enemy  then  retreated  towards  Ashby's  Gap,  pur 
sued  for  two  miles  by  the  First  and  Second  Cavalry  Brigades, 
which  at  sunset  returned  and  encamped  on  the  battlefield,  buried 
the  dead  and  took  care  of  the  wounded.  Eighteen  dead  bodies  of 
the  enemy  were  buried  and  over  thirty  of  their  wounded  were 
found,  in  addition  to  what  they  carried  away.  Horses  killed,  Third 
Indiana  eighteen,  Eighth  Illinois  seventeen. 

"WILLIAM  GAMBLE, 
"Colonel  Commanding  Eirst  Cavalry  Brigade." 

Erom  this  battlefield  the  First  Cavalry  Division  moved  to  Ed 
wards  Ferry  and  crossed  the  Potomac  on  June  27.  General  Bu- 
ford,  commanding  the  division,  in  his  report  (Vol.  XXVII,  Part 
1,  page  926)  says: 

"After  passing  the  Potomac  on  the  upper  pontoon  bridge  the 
division  marched  over  almost  impassable  roads,  crossing  the 
Monocacy  near  its  mouth,  by  a  wretched  ford,  and  bivouacked  on 
the  east  side  of  the  mountain,  three  miles  from  Jefferson;  being 
halted  there  by  the  whole  train  of  General  Stahl's  division  block 
ading  the  road  through  the  mountains.  June  28,  the  division  moved 
through  Jefferson  and  went  into  camp  for  the  purpose  of  shoeing 
and  refitting. 

"June  2 9, the  Reserve  Brigade  (General  Merritt's)  was  detached 
and  moved  to  Mechanicstown.  The  First  and  Second  Brigades 
moved  through  Boonesborough,  Cavetown  and  Monterey  Springs, 
and  encamped  near  Fairfield,  within  a  short  distance  of  a  consid 
erable  force  of  the  enemy's  infantry. 

"The  inhabitants  knew  of  my  arrival  and  the  position  of  the 
enemy's  camp,  yet  not  one  of  them  gave  me  a  particle  of  informa- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  81 

tion,  nor  even  mentioned  the  fact  of  the  enemy's  presence.  The 
whole  community  seemed  stampeded  and  afraid  to  speak  or  to  act, 
often  offering  as  excuses  for  not  showing  some  little  enterprise: 
'The  rebels  will  destroy  our  houses  if  we  tell  anything.'  Had  any 
one  given  me  timely  information  and  acted  as  guide  that  night, 
I  could  have  surprised  and  destroyed  this  force,  which  proved  next 
day  to  be  two  Mississippi  regiments  of  infantry  and  two  guns. 

"June  30  the  two  brigades  moved  out  very  early  to  go  to  Gettys 
burg,  via  Fairfield.  At  the  latter  place  my  advance  ran  upon  the 
force  referred  to.  I  determined  to  feel  it  and  drive  it,  if  possible, 
but,  after  a  little  skirmishing,  found  that  artillery  would  have  to 
be  necessarily  used.  Kesolved  not  to  disturb  them,  for  fear  can 
nonading  from  that  quarter  might  disarrange  the  plans  of  the 
general  commanding.  Fairfield  was  four  or  five  miles  west  of  the 
route  assigned  me,  and  I  did  not  wish  to  bring  on  an  engagement 
so  far  from  the  road  I  was  expected  to  be  following.  I  imme 
diately  turned  my  column  towards  Emmetsburg  without  serious 
molestation,  and  was  soon  on  my  proper  road  and  moving  on  to 
Gettysburg,  where  I  had  reason  to  suppose  I  should  find  some  of 
General  Stahl's  (Kilpatrick's)  cavalry.  We  entered  Gettysburg 
in  the  afternoon,  just  in  time  to  meet  the  enemy  entering  the  town, 
and  in  good  season  to  drive  him  back  before  his  getting  a  foothold. 
He  withdrew  towards  Cashtown,  leaving  his  pickets  about  four 
and  one-half  miles  from  Gettysburg. 

aThe  night  of  the  30th  was  a  busy  night  for  the  division.  No 
reliable  information  of  value  could  be  obtained  from  the  inhabit 
ants,  and  but  for  the  untiring  exertions  of  many  different  scouting 
parties,  information  of  the  enemy's  movements  and  whereabouts 
could  not  have  been  gained  in  time  to  prevent  him  from  getting 
into  the  town  before  our  army  could  get  up. 

"By  daylight  on  July  1,  I  had  gained  positive  information  of 
the  enemy's  position  and  movements,  and  my  arrangements  were 
made  for  entertaining  him  until  General  Reynolds  could  reach  the 


82  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

scene.  Between  8  and  9  a.  m.  reports  came  in  from  the  First 
Brigade  (Colonel  Gamble's)  that  the  enemy  was  coming  from 
towards  Cashtown  in  force.  Colonel  Gamble  made  an  admirable 
line  of  battle,  and  moved  off  proudly  to  meet  him.  The  two  lines 
soon  became  hotly  engaged,  we  having  the  advantage  of  posi 
tion,  he  of  numbers.  The  First  Brigade  held  its  position  for  more 
than  two  hours,  and  had  literally  to  be  dragged  back  a  few  hundred 
yards  to  a  position  more  secure  and  better  sheltered.  Tidball's 
battery,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Calef,  Second  U.  S.  Artillery, 
fought  on  this  occasion  as  is  seldom  witnessed.  At  one  time  the 
enemy  had  a  concentric  fire  on  this  battery  from  twelve  guns,  all 
at  short  range.  Calef  held  his  own  gloriously,  worked  his  guns 
deliberately,  with  great  judgment  and  skill,  and  with  wonderful 
effect  upon  the  enemy.  The  First  Brigade  maintained  this  un 
equal  contest  until  the  leading  division  of  General  Reynolds7  corps 
came  up  to  its  assistance,  and  then  most  reluctantly  did  it  give  up 
the  front.  A  portion  of  the  Third  Indiana  found  horse  holders, 
borrowed  muskets,  and  fought  with  the  Wisconsin  regiment  that 
came  to  relieve  them.  While  this  left  of  my  line  was  engaged, 
Devin's  brigade,  on  the  right,  had  its  hands  full.  The  enemy  ad 
vanced  upon  Devin  by  four  roads  and  on  each  was  checked  and 
held  until  the  leading  division  of  the  Eleventh  Corps  came  to  his 
relief.  After  the  fall  of  General  Reynolds,  whose  advance  troops 
partially  drove  back  the  enemy  and  made  heavy  captures  of  pris 
oners,  the  enemy  brought  up  fresh  troops  and  engaged  General 
Doubleday's  command,  which  fought  bravely,  but  was  greatly  out 
numbered  and  forced  to  fall  back.  Seeing  our  troops  retiring,  and 
their  need  of  assistance,  I  immediately  rushed  Gamble's  brigade  to 
Doubleday's  left  and  dismounted  it  in  time  to  render  great  assist 
ance  to  our  infantry  and  to  check  and  break  the  enemy's  line.  My 
troops  at  this  place  had  partial  shelter  behind  a  low  stone  fence, 
and  were  in  short  carbine  range.  Their  fire  was  perfectly  terrific, 
causing  the  enemy  to  break  and  rally  on  their  second  line,  which 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  83 

made  no  further  advance  towards  my  position.  Shortly  after  this 
I  placed  my  command  on  our  extreme  left,  to  watch  and  fight  the 
enemy,  should  he  make  another  attack,  and  went  to  Cemetery  Hill 
for  observation.  While  there  General  Hancock  arrived  and  in  a 
few  moments  he  made  superb  disposition  to  resist  any  attack  that 
might  be  made. 

"My  division  bivouacked  that  night  on  the  left  of  our  position 
with  pickets  extending  almost  to  Fairfield.  The  zeal,  bravery  and 
good  behavior  of  the  officers  and  men  on  the  night  of  June  30  and 
during  July  1  was  commendable  in  the  extreme.  A  heavy  task 
was  before  us ;  we  were  equal  to  it ;  and  shall  ever  remember  with 
pride  that  at  Gettysburg  we  did  our  country  much  service. 

"July  2  the  division  became  engaged  with  the  enemy's  sharp 
shooters  on  our  left  and  held  its  own  until  relieved  by  General 
Sickle's  corps,  after  which  it  moved  to  Tawneytown  and  bivou 
acked  for  the  night.  The  next  day,  July  3,  it  moved  to  West 
minster  to  guard  the  trains  of  the  army  at  that  point. 

"July  4  the  division  marched  towards  Fredrick,  en  route  to 
Williamsport.  July  5  reached  Fredrick,  drew  supplies  and  re 
mained  all  night. 

"July  6,  the  whole  division  (the  Reserve  Brigade  having 
joined  the  night  before)  marched  at  4  a.  m.  towards  Williams- 
port,  to  destroy  the  enemy's  trains,  which  were  reported  to  be 
crossing  the  Potomac  into  Virginia.  At  about  5  p.  m.,  when  near 
St.  James  College,  the  enemy's  pickets  were  discovered,  driven  in, 
and  preparations  made  to  capture  the  town.  The  enemy  was 
driven  handsomely  to  within  half  a  mile  of  his  trains  at  the  town, 
when  he  came  out  strong  enough  to  prevent  our  further  progress. 
General  Merritt's  brigade  with  Graham's  battery  was  on  the  right, 
Colonel  Gamble's  (First)  brigade  on  the  left  and  Colonel  Devin's 
(Second)  brigade  on  the  left  as  rear  reserve.  The  enemy  made 
an  attack  upon  Gamble,  who  had  posted  his  men  under  shelter 
and  who  held  their  fire  until  the  rebel  line  came  within  short 


84  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

carbine  range,  when  he  opened  upon  it,  doing  terrible  execution 
and  driving  it  back  to  its  stronghold.  This  was  repeated  with 
similar  success.  In  Merritt's  front  the  enemy  made  no  direct 
attack,  but  were  so  obstinate  that  General  Merritt  could  not  dis 
lodge  them  without  too  much  sacrifice.  The  enemy,  however, 
attempted  to  turn  our  right  with  a  brigade  of  infantry.  This 
attempt  was  most  admirably  foiled  by  General  Merritt.  While 
our  hottest  contest  was  in  progress  General  Kilpatrick's  guns  were 
heard  in  the  direction  of  Hagerstown,  and  as  they  drew  nearer  I 
directed  him  to  connect  with  my  right  for  mutual  support.  The 
connection  was  made,  but  was  of  no  consequence  to  either  of  us. 
Just  before  dark  Kilpatrick's  troops  gave  way,  passing  to  my  rear 
by  the  right,  and  were  closely  followed  by  the  enemy.  It  now 
being  dark,  being  outnumbered,  and  the  First  and  Reserve 
Brigades  being  out  of  ammunition,  Devin  was  ordered  to  relieve 
Gamble  and  a  portion  of  Merritt's  troops.  This  being  done,  I 
ordered  the  command  to  fall  back,  Devin  to  hold  his  ground  until 
the  entire  road  to  Antietam  was  clear.  Devin  handsomely  car 
ried  out  his  instructions,  and  the  division  bivouacked  on  the  road 
to  Boonesborough. 

"The  expedition  had  for  its  object  the  destruction  of  the 
enemy's  trains,  supposed  to  be  at  Williamsport.  This,  I  regret 
to  say,  was  not  accomplished.  The  enemy  was  too  strong  for 
me,  but  he  was  severely  punished  for  his  obstinacy.  His  casual 
ties  were  more  than  quadruple  mine. 

"Colonel  Chapman,  with  his  regiment,  dashed  off  to  the  road 
leading  from  Falling  Waters  to  Williamsport,  destroyed  a  small 
train  of  grain  and  returned  with  about  forty  mules  and  their 
harness.  At  Williamsport  Captain  Graham  fought  his  battery 
with  marked  ability  and  to  the  admiration  of  all  witnesses.  The 
officers  and  men  behaved  with  their  usual  courage,  displaying 
great  unwillingness  to  fall  back  and  requiring  repeated  orders 
before  doing  so. 


HlSTOBY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  85 

"July  7  the  division  moved  to  Boonesborough,  the  Reserve 
Brigade  camping  well  in  advance  on  the  Hagerstown  road,  after 
having  a  successful  cavalry  brush  with  the  enemy's  advance.  July 
8  the  enemy  attacked  at  5  a.  m.  and  the  fighting  lasted  until  5 
p.  m.  He  was  driven  back  about  four  miles,  when  the  division 
bivouacked  for  the  night.  July  9,  attacked  the  enemy  at  4  p.  m. 
and  drove  him  handsomely  about  two  miles.  July  10  attacked 
the  enemy  at  8  a.  m.  and  drove  him  through  Funkstown  to  his 
entrenchments  beyond  Antietam,  when  he  came  out  with  a  heavy 
force  of  infantry  and  artillery  and  gave  battle.  The  division  held 
the  crest  on  our  side  of  the  town  like  veterans  until  its  ammuni 
tion  was  exhausted.  Howe's  division  of  the  Sixth  Corps  was  in 
easy  supporting  distance,  but  had  no  orders  to  aid  me.  At  3  p.  m. 
I  could  no  longer  reply  with  carbines,  for  want  of  cartridges,  and 
consequently  ordered  the  division  to  fall  back.  There  was 
splendid  fighting  on  the  part  of  the  division  on  the  7th,  8th,  9th 
and  10th.  There  was  no  faltering  or  hesitation.  Each  man  went 
to  work  determined  to  carry  anything  in  reason. 

"July  11  the  First  and  Second  Brigades  moved  in  the  after 
noon  in  the  vicinity  of  Bakersville.  The  reserve  brigade  was  de 
tached.  July  12  and  13  remained  at  Bakersville  and  pushed 
pickets  to  within  800  yards  of  the  enemy's  entrenchments  at 
Downsville.  July  14  at  7  a.  m.  the  division  was  ordered  to 
advance  and  at  7  :30  a.  m.  it  was  discovered  the  enemy  had  evacu 
ated  during  the  night.  The  few  remaining  scouts  were  run  into  the 
rear  guard  of  Lee's  army,  which  was  soon  seen  in  front  of  Kil- 
patrick,  who  had  advanced  from  the  north.  Kilpatrick  was  en 
gaged.  I  sent  word  to  him  that  I  would  put  my  whole  force  in 
on  the  enemy's  rear  and  flank  and  get  possession  of  the  road  and 
bridge  in  their  rear.  The  division  succeeded  in  getting  the  road, 
and  attacked  the  enemy  in  flank  and  rear,  doing  him  great 
damage,  scattering  him  in  confusion  through  woods  and  ravines. 
Our  spoils  on  this  occasion  were  one  ten-pounder  Farrott  gun, 


86  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

one  caisson,  over  500  prisoners  and  about  300  muskets.  General 
Merritt  came  up  in  time  to  take  the  advance  before  the  enemy 
had  entirely  crossed  and  made  many  captures.  The  enemy's 
bridge  was  protected  by  over  a  dozen  guns  in  position  and  sharp 
shooters  on  the  Virginia  side.  As  our  troops  neared  the  bridge 
the  enemy  cut  the  Maryland  side  loose  and  the  bridge  swung  to 
the  Virginia  side. 

"July  15  the  division  moved  to  Berlin.  July  16  moved  camp 
to  Petersville.  July  17  remained  at  Petersville.  July  18  crossed 
during  afternoon  and  encamped  near  Purcellville.  July  19 
marched  through  Philimont  and  encamped  on  Goose  creek  near 
Rectors  Cross  Eoads.  July  20  marched  to  Eectortown.  Detached 
General  Merritt  with  his  brigade  to  hold  Manassas  Gap,  Gamble 
to  hold  Chester  Gap,  and  Devin  with  all  the  train  moved  to  Salem. 
July  21  Merritt  in  Manassas  Gap;  Gamble  near  Chester  Gap, 
finding  it  already  in  possession  of  a  superior  force  of  the  enemy. 
General  Merritt  and  Colonel  Gamble  each  had  a  fight  and  made 
captures.  July  22  wagon  train  sent  to  Warrentown  in  charge  of 
Sixth  New  York  Cavalry.  Devin  moved  to  Barbes  Cross  Roads. 
July  23  whole  division  concentrated  at  Barbes  Cross  Roads,  re 
maining  until  the  26th.  On  the  26th  the  division  took  possession 
of  Warrentown  and  Fayetteville,  picketing  the  Rappahannock 
river  from  Sulphur  Springs  to  Kelleys  Ford. 

"During  the  whole  campaign,  from  June  27  to  July  31,  there 
has  been  no  shirking  or  hesitation,  no  tiring  on  the  part  of  a  single 
man  so  far  as  I  have  seen.  To  General  Merritt,  Colonels  Gamble 
and  Devin,  brigade  commanders,  I  give  my  heartfelt  thanks  for 
their  zeal  and  hearty  support.  Neither  of  them  ever  doubted  the 
feasibility  of  an  order,  but  on  its  reception  obeyed  its  dictates  to 
the  letter.  The  First  Brigade  captured  854  head  of  beef  cattle 
and  602  sheep  at  Chester s  Gap,  which  were  turned  over  to  the 
subsistence  department  at  Markham,  July  24. 

"I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"JOHN  BUFORD, 
"Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers,  Commanding." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  87 

No  excuse  could  be  required  for  inserting  in  this  history  the 
foregoing  full  account  of  the  operations  of  the  cavalry  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  to  which  the  battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana 
belonged,  written  at  the  time  by  the  brave,  wise  and  well-beloved 
commander  of  the  division  to  which  it  was  attached.  It  is  a  faith 
ful  diary  of  what  was  done  by  our  branch  of  the  service  during 
thirty-four  days  of  most  arduous  service,  at  which  time  the 
greatest  battle  of  the  war — Gettysburg — was  fought,  for  it  was 
the  turning  point  in  the  war. 

But  even  more  intimately  was  our  battalion  known  by  our  gal 
lant  brigade  commander,  Col.  William  Gamble,  of  the  grand  old 
Eighth  Illinois  Cavalry,  and  we  will  not  pass  from  Gettysburg 
until  we  have  given  his  account  of  that  mighty  conflict  as  he  saw 
and  acted  his  part  in  it.  From  Vol.  XXVII,  page  934,  we  quote 
Colonel  Gamble: 

"About  8  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  1st  instant,  while  in 
camp  at  the  seminary  building,  the  officer  commanding  the 
squadron  on  picket  gave  me  notice  that  the  enemy,  consisting 
of  infantry  and  artillery  in  column,  was  approaching  his  pickets 
from  the  direction  of  Cashtown,  with  deployed  skirmishers  in 
strong  force  about  three  miles  distant.  This  information  was 
immediately  communicated  to  the  general  commanding  the 
division,  who  ordered  my  command  to  be  in  immediate  readiness 
to  fight  the  enemy.  My  brigade — consisting  of  the  Eighth  New 
York,  Eighth  Illinois,  three  squadrons  of  the  Third  Indiana  and 
two  squadrons  of  the  Twelfth  Illinois  Cavalry,  about  1,600  strong, 
and  Tidball's  battery,  Second  U.  S.  Artillery — was  placed  in 
line  of  battle  about  one  mile  in  front  of  the  seminary,  the  right 
resting  on  the  railroad  track  and  the  left  near  the  Middletown  or 
Fairfax  (Fair field)  road,  the  Cashtown  road  being  a  little  to  the 
right  of  the  center  at  right  angle  with  the  line.  Three  squadrons, 
part  dismounted,  were  ordered  to  the  front  and  deployed  as 
skirmishers  to  support  the  squadron  on  picket,  now  being  driven 


88  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALBY. 

back  by  the  enemy's  artillery  and  skirmishers.  Our  battery  of 
six  three-inch  rifle  guns  was  placed  in  position,  one  section  on  each 
side  of  the  Cashtown  road,  covering  the  approaches  of  the  enemy, 
and  the  other  section  on  the  right  of  the  left  regiment  to  cover  that 
flank.  The  enemy  cautiously  approached  in  column  on  the  road 
with  three  extended  lines  on  each  flank.  His  and  our  line  of  skir 
mishers  became  engaged  and  our  artillery  opened  on  the  enemy's 
advancing  column,  doing  good  execution.  The  enemy  moved 
forward;  two  batteries  opened  on  us  and  a  sharp  engagement  of 
artillery  took  place.  In  a  short  time  we  were  compelled  by  over 
powering  numbers  to  fall  back  about  200  yards  to  the  next  ridge 
and  there  make  a  stand.  In  the  meantime  our  skirmishers,  fight 
ing  under  cover  of  trees  and  fences,  were  sharply  engaged,  did 
good  execution  and  retarded  the  progress  of  the  enemy  as  much  as 
could  possibly  be  expected,  when  it  is  known  they  were  opposed 
by  three  divisions  of  Hill's  corps.  After  checking  and  retarding 
the  enemy's  advance  several  hours,  and  falling  back  only  about 
200  yards  from  the  first  line  of  battle,  our  infantry  advance  of 
the  First  Corps  arrived  and  relieved  the  cavalry  brigade  in  its 
unequal  contest  with  the  enemy.  In  the  afternoon  the  enemy 
being  strongly  reinforced  extended  his  flanks  and  advanced  on  our 
left  in  three  strong  lines  to  turn  that  flank.  The  general  com 
manding  the  division  ordered  my  brigade  forward  at  a  trot,  to 
deploy  in  line  on  the  ridge  of  the  woods,  with  the  seminary  on  our 
right.  Half  of  the  Eighth  New  York,  Third  Indiana  and  Twelfth 
Illinois  were  dismounted  and  placed  behind  a  portion  of  a  stone 
wall  and  under  cover  of  trees.  The  enemy  being  close  upon  us, 
we  opened  a  sharp  and  rapid  carbine  fire,  which  killed  and 
wounded  so  many  of  the  first  line  of  the  enemy  that  it  fell  back 
on  the  second  line.  Our  men  kept  up  the  fire  until  the  enemy  in 
overwhelming  numbers  approached  so  near  that  in  order  to  save 
my  men  and  horses  from  capture  they  were  ordered  to  mount  and 
fall  back  rapidly  to  the  next  ridge  on  the  left  of  the  town,  where 


GEORGE  MIDDLETON— AT  61. 


HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALEY.  89 

our  artillery  was  posted.  The  stand  which  we  made  against  the 
enemy  prevented  our  left  flank  from  being  turned  and  saved  a 
division  of  our  infantry. 

"My  brigade  fought  well  under  disadvantageous  circumstances 
against  a  largely  superior  force.  Every  officer  and  soldier  did  his 
duty.  The  list  of  casualties  is  large,  but  could  not  be  less,  con 
sidering  the  position  we  occupied.  Major  Lemon,  Third  Indiana, 
was  mortally  wounded,  since  dead;  Lieutenant  Conroe,  Twelfth 
Illinois  Cavalry,  killed;  Captain  Fisher  and  Lieutenant  Voss, 
same  regiment,  wounded;  Captain  Follett,  Eighth  New  York, 
severely  wounded;  Captain  Martin,  Third  Indiana,  wounded; 
Captain  Morris,  Eighth  Illinois  Cavalry,  serving  on  my  staff, 
was  wounded,  and  one  of  my  orderlies  was  killed.  Tidball's 
battery  under  Lieutenant  Calef,  attached  to  my  brigade,  was 
worked  faithfully,  did  good  execution  and  fully  sustained  its 
former  high  reputation.  This  brigade  had  the  honor  to  commence 
the  fight  in  the  morning  and  close  it  in  the  evening. 

"Near  Williamsport,  Md.,  July  6.  This  brigade  was  ordered 
to  engage  the  enemy  on  the  left  of  the  Boonesborough  road,  near 
Williamsport,  the  reserve  brigade  being  on  the  right  of  the  road. 
The  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  was  ordered  to  capture  and  destroy  a 
train  of  seven  wagons  of  the  enemy  on  our  left  on  the  Downsville 
road,  which  was  successfully  accomplished,  making  prisoners  of 
the  drivers  and  those  in  charge  of  the  train.  The  brigade  was 
then  placed  in  line  of  battle,  three-fourths  of  it  dismounted  to 
drive  the  enemy's  skirmishers;  Tidball's  battery  of  four  guns 
placed  in  position,  supported  by  the  balance  of  the  mounted  men, 
opened  on  the  enemy,  many  times  our  superior  in  numbers,  and 
did  excellent  execution;  the  dismounted  men  in  the  meantime 
keeping  up  a  sharp  carbine  fire,  drove  the  rebel  pickets  on  their 
reserve.  The  dismounted  men  were  under  the  immediate  com 
mand  of  the  gallant  and  lamented  Major  Medill,  Eighth  Illinois 
Cavalry,  who  fell  mortally  wounded.  We  held  our  position  until 


90  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

dark  and  were  then  relieved  by  Colonel  Devin's  brigade  and 
ordered  to  fall  back  to  Jones  Cross  Roads  in  the  direction  of 
Boonesborough,  which  we  reached  about  midnight ;  the  delay  being 
caused  by  Kilpatrick's  division  having  been  driven  back  in  confu 
sion  from  the  direction  of  Hagerstown,  completely  blockading  the 
road  in  our  rear  and  making  it  impassable  for  several  hours. 

"Near  Boonesborough,  Md.,  July  8.  The  enemy  was  reported 
advancing  on  the  Hagerstown  road.  General  Buford  ordered  my 
brigade  to  take  position  on  the  crest  of  the  ridge  on  the  right  of 
the  road  to  Hagerstown,  about  one  and  one-half  miles  from 
Boonesborough,  my  dismounted  men  thrown  out  to  the  front 
and  in  a  strip  of  woods  on  the  right  of  the  road ;  the  battery  being 
in  position  on  the  center  of  the  line,  supported  by  the  mounted 
men.  The  rebels  moved  forward  to  drive  in  our  skirmishers,  sup 
ported  by  their  battery,  but  after  a  sharp  contest  were  unable  to 
drive  me  from  my  position  on  the  right.  The  enemy,  however, 
gradually  worked  round  on  the  left,  driving  the  skirmishers  of 
Kilpatrick's  division;  placed  a  section  of  artillery  so  as  to  bring 
a  crossfire  on  my  brigade,  when  I  was  ordered  to  fall  back  on 
Boonesborough.  Afterwards  Kilpatrick's  division  was  relieved 
on  the  left  and  placed  on  the  right;  but  being  unable  to  dislodge 
the  enemy  from  the  woods  I  formerly  occupied,  my  brigade  was 
ordered  forward,  the  battery  placed  in  position  under  a  heavy  fire. 
Three-fourths  of  the  brigade  were  dismounted  and  ordered  to 
drive  the  enemy  out  of  the  woods  in  front,  which  was  accom 
plished  rapidly  under  a  heavy  fire  of  shell  and  musketry.  Gen. 
Buford  in  person  leading  the  advance  line  of  skirmishers,  drove 
the  enemy  three  miles  and  across  Beaver  creek,  on  the  Williams- 
port  or  Funkstown  road.  General  Kilpatrick  with  two  squadrons 
of  his  command  galloped  down  the  road  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  enemy,  halted,  looked  at  each  other  and  retired,  when  the  dis 
mounted  men  of  my  brigade  came  up  and  drove  the  enemy  across 
Beaver  creek. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  91 

"Near  Funkstown,  Md.,  July  10.  The  brigade  having  driven 
the  rebels  along  the  Hagerstown  road  from  Beaver  creek  to  within 
three  miles  of  Funkstown  on  the  9th  instant,  we  advanced  again 
on  the  10th  instant  with  dismounted  skirmishers  and  artillery, 
supported  by  the  balance  of  the  mounted  men.  The  division  ad 
vanced  in  line  of  battle;  reserve  brigade  on  the  right,  First 
Brigade  in  the  center  and  on  both  sides  of  the  road,  and  the 
Second  Brigade  on  the  left.  Drove  the  enemy  rapidly  under  a 
heavy  fire  of  artillery  and  musketry  into  Funkstown  on  a  large 
reserve  of  the  enemy.  We  occupied  the  heights  above  Funkstown 
with  Tidball's  battery,  under  Lieutenant  Calef,  which  did  good 
execution,  and  our  skirmish  line  was  advanced  to  the  suburbs  of 
the  town.  The  enemy  tried  hard  with  a  much  superior  force  to 
dislodge  us  from  our  position,  but  so  long  as  our  ammunition 
lasted  he  was  unable  to  do  so.  Our  infantry  finally  arrived  to 
within  a  half  mile  of  our  rear,  and  although  we  were  hard  pressed 
by  the  enemy  and  nearly  all  our  ammunition  expended,  the  in 
fantry  pitched  their  shelter  tents  and  commenced  cooking  and 
eating  in  spite  of  repeated  requests  to  the  commanding  officer  of 
the  infantry  to  occupy  our  excellent  position  and  relieve  us.  When 
our  ammunition  was  expended  we  were  ordered  by  General  Bu- 
ford  to  fall  back.  The  rebels  then  occupied  our  position  and  our 
infantry  afterwards  had  to  retake  it  with  the  unnecessary  loss  of 
several  killed  and  wounded. 

"Near  Falling  Waters,  Md.,  July  14.  On  the  morning  of  the 
14th  instant  the  brigade  was  ordered  to  march  on  the  enemy  in 
the  direction  of  Downsville  from  our  camp  near  Bakersville.  We 
proceeded  in  that  direction,  found  the  enemy's  earthworks  at 
Downsville  abandoned,  and  were  informed  that  the  enemy  had  re 
treated  towards  Falling  Waters  and  Williamsport,  so  as  to  cross 
the  Potomac  during  the  night.  The  brigade  marched  rapidly 
towards  Falling  Waters,  and  when  near  there  observed  a  division 
of  the  enemy  intrenched  on  a  hill  covering  the  approach  to  the 


92  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

ford.  The  brigade,  in  connection  with  the  other  brigades  of  the 
First  Cavalry  Division,  was  ordered  to  move  round  to  flank  and 
attack  the  enemy  in  the  rear,  to  cut  them  off  from  the  ford  and 
capture  them,  which  we  could  easily  have  accomplished.  During 
this  movement  I  saw  two  small  squadrons  of  General  Kilpatrick's 
division  gallop  up  the  hill  to  the  right  of  the  rebel  infantry,  in 
line  of  battle  behind  their  earthworks.  Any  competent  cavalry 
officer  of  experience  could  foretell  the  result.  These  two  squadrons 
were  instantly  scattered  and  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  the  rebel 
brigade ;  not  a  single  dead  enemy  could  be  found  when  the  ground 
was  examined  a  few  hours  afterward.  This  having  alarmed  the 
enemy,  he  fell  back  toward  the  ford  before  we  could  get  round  in 
his  rear.  We,  however,  with  our  dismounted  men  attacked  him 
in  flank  on  rough  ground  and  had  a  sharp  carbine  engagement, 
taking  about  511  prisoners,  sixty-one  of  whom  together  with  300 
stands  of  arms  were  turned  over  to  an  officer  of  Kilpatrick's 
division  by  mistake ;  also  a  three-inch  Parrott  gun,  captured  from 
the  enemy  by  the  Eighth  New  York  Cavalry,  which  was  after 
wards  sent  by  General  Kilpatrick  to  the  camp  of  this  brigade, 
where  it  properly  belonged. 

"July  21  and  22.  In  obedience  to  orders  this  brigade  marched 
from  near  Rector stown,  Va.,  to  Chester  Gap  (about  twenty 
miles),  arriving  in  that  vicinity  at  3 :30  p.  m.,  July  21.  About  a 
mile  from  the  Gap  our  advance  line  of  skirmishers  encountered 
the  enemy's  pickets.  I  dismounted  six  squadrons  and  drove  the 
enemy's  pickets  to  the  crest  of  the  Gap  on  their  reserve,  which 
was  found  to  consist  of  Pickett's  division  of  infantry,  ope  regi 
ment  of  Jones'  cavalry  and  a  battery  of  six  guns,  occupying  the 
Gap  on  the  crest  of  the  mountain.  Upon  obtaining  this  informa 
tion  and  not  having  a  sufficient  force  to  drive  the  enemy  from  the 
Gap,  and  having  no  support  nearer  than  twenty  miles,  we  fell 
back  one  and  one-half  miles  from  the  Gap.  We  here  took  position 
so  as  to  cover  the  two  roads  leading  from  the  Gap,  one  towards 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  93 

Barbes  Cross  Roads  and  the  other  to  Little  Washington  and 
Sperryville;  placed  the  guns  in  battery  and  a  strong  line  of 
pickets  in  front  and  flank.  We  captured  to-day  twenty-three  pris 
oners,  eighty-four  horses,  twelve  mules,  654  beef  cattle,  602  sheep, 
all  purchased  and  on  the  way  to  be  delivered  to  the  rebel  army  at 
the  Gap,  in  charge  of  a  commissary  agent  and  his  son,  who  were 
captured. 

"July  22  at  8  a.  m.  my  pickets  reported  the  enemy  advancing 
from  the  Gap  in  column  with  skirmishers  on  the  road  towards 
Sperryville.  When  the  enemy's  column  came  within  easy  range 
we  opened  fire  on  it  with  artillery  and  the  carbines  of  the  dis 
mounted  men  so  effectually  that  the  column,  with  its  wagon  train, 
halted  and  fell  back  out  of  our  range;  his  advance  guard  and 
skirmishers  being  still  engaged  with  ours,  continued  firing,  we 
holding  our  position  and  preventing  the  head  of  Longstreet's  corps 
from  moving  forward  from  the  Gap  from  8  a.  m.  till  6  p.  m.  The 
enemy  then  brought  five  regiments  of  infantry  around  out  of  sight 
in  the  woods  and,  approaching  my  left  flank,  drove  in  our  skir 
mishers,  and  only  by  overwhelming  numbers  compelled  me  to  fall 
back  slowly  towards  Barbes  Cross  Roads,  keeping  my  videttes  and 
pickets  watching  the  enemy. 

"WILLIAM  GAMBLE, 
"Colonel  Commanding  First  Brigade,  First  Cavalry  Division. 

"Capt.  T.  C.  BACON, 

"Assistant  Adjutant-General  First  Cavalry  Division." 

As  will  be  seen  by  the  list  in  another  part  of  this  volume,  the 
Third  Indiana  Cavalry  suffered  severely  in  this  great  battle,  both 
in  killed  and  wounded;  among  the  former  being  Maj.  Charles 
Lemon,  who  had  been  with  the  regiment  from  the  organization, 
first  as  lieutenant,  then  captain  of  Company  D  and  later  as  major 
by  promotion  in  line.  He  was  every  inch  a  soldier,  both  wise  in 
counsel  and  brave  in  action,  and,  while  he  was  a  strict  disciplin 
arian,  the  men  well  knew  he  never  asked  of  them  other  than 


94  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

what  he  deemed  just  and  what  he  conceded  could  justly  be  exacted 
of  him  by  his  superiors.  He  had  never  been  absent  from  duty  and 
when  the  casualty  of  battle  removed  him  his  loss  was  felt  in  the 
regiment. 

In  the  reorganization  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  on  the  31st 
of  July,  1863,  under  General  Meade,  the  First  Brigade  of  Bu- 
ford's  remained  the  same  with  the  exception  that  two  squadrons 
of  the  Twelfth  Illinois  Cavalry  were  attached  to  the  Third  Indi 
ana  Cavalry,  under  Colonel  Chapman. 

There  was  quietude  on  the  picket  line,  established  on  the  26th 
of  July  from  Sulphur  Springs  to  Kelleys  Ford  on  the  Rappahan- 
nock,  until  the  4th  of  August,  when  2,000  rebel  cavalry  with  six 
guns  attacked  the  line  of  the  First  and  Reserve  Brigades.  Of  this 
General  Buford  says  (Vol.  XXIX,  page  22)  :  "He  drove  my 
pickets  back  about  1,500  yards,  when  the  division  came  up  and 
drove  him  nearly  two  miles.  My  picket  line  tonight  is  800  yards 
from  where  it  was  yesterday.  The  enemy's  reconnoissance  was 
an  utter  failure.  My  casualties  are  trifling,  say  five  to  ten.  The 
First  and  Reserve  Brigades  behaved  like  heroes." 

The  army  moved  south  of  the  Rappahannock  and  encamped 
around  Culpepper  and  Stevensburg,  the  cavalry  camping  near  the 
latter  point  a  short  distance  from  Germania  Ford  on  the  Rapidan 
river.  The  rebel  army  was  south  of  the  Rapidan,  and  their  cavalry 
picketed  the  fords  from  their  side,  as  we  did  from  our  side.  There 
was  little  disturbance,  save  occasional  artillery  firing  when  some 
body  of  troops  exposed  itself  within  range  of  the  enemy's  guns. 
During  this  time,  on  the  10th  of  October,  Colonel  Chapman  was 
placed  in  command  of  the  First  Brigade,  Major  McClure  of  the 
Third  Indiana  Cavalry  and  Capt.  Henry  L.  Reans  was  given 
command  of  the  four  companies  of  the  Twelfth  Illinois  Cavalry, 
heretofore  attached  to  the  Third  Indiana. 

The  records  from  which  we  have  so  often  quoted,  and  which 
have  been  our  main  reliance  in  the  writing  of  this  history,  unfor- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  95 

tunately  do  not  always  tell  all  that  should  be  told.  We  are  unable 
to  find  any  account  of  a  reconnoissance  made  by  Buford's  division 
and  a  portion  of  Kilpatrick's  command  on  the  21st  and  22d  of 
September,  1863,  while  those  troops  lay  in  camp  around  Stevens- 
burg.  This  expedition  crossed  the  Kapidan  on  the  21st  and  also 
crossed  Robertson's  river,  camping  for  the  night  on  the  outskirts 
of  Madison  Court  House.  Early  next  morning  Kilpatrick  moved 
on  through  Madison  Court  House  and  Buford  moved  down  the 
north  side  of  Beautiful  river,  with  company  F,  Third  Indiana, 
in  advance,  with  skirmishers  in  front.  Major  Patton  commanded 
the  regiment,  the  Major  himself  with  his  bugler  being  with  the 
skirmishers.  Some  three  or  four  miles  out  from  Madison  Court 
House  the  skirmishers  ran  on  to  rebel  cavalry,  and  when  the  first 
shots  were  fired  Major  Patton  came  back  to  Company  F  and  told 
Captain  Moffitt  of  that  company  to  get  ready  as  the  enemy  was 
coming.  To  the  right  of  the  road  the  land  sloped  down  to  the 
river,  and  the  left  was  a  level  open  woodland.  Two  hundred 
yards  in  front  was  an  opening  or  farm,  the  road  making  a  sharp 
turn  around  a  thick  clump  of  underbrush  in  the  corner  of  a  field. 
The  enemy  in  coming  at  us  had  to  pass  this  corner  and  clump  of 
underbrush  before  coming  into  view  of  Company  F,  which  was 
formed  at  right  angles  with  the  road,  the  left  well  forward.  In 
this  position  a  squadron  of  the  First  North  Carolina  Cavalry  with 
a  yell  came  full  drive  on  a  charge  around  the  corner  above  re 
ferred  to.  As  they  came  out  from  behind  the  clump  of  under 
brush  Company  F  gave  them  a  full  volley  with  their  carbines 
which  quieted  the  rebel  yell,  most  of  the  charging  column  wheeled 
and  broke  back  on  the  road  from  whence  they  came.  The  officer 
in  command  of  the  charging  rebel  column  with  about  a  dozen 
men  continued  the  charge  and  surrendered  when  he  reached  our 
artillery,  while  the  few  men  with  him  dashed  down  the  slope  of 
the  hill  with  Company  F  after  them,  and  right  there  killed, 
wounded  and  captured  ten  men. 


96  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

After  falling  back,  the  enemy  dismounted  behind  the  clump  of 
underbrush  that  had  been  our  source  of  concealment  and  began 
firing  at  our  men  who  were  still  mounted.  There  Hez  Daily, 
Louis  Klussmann  and  Pollard  J.  Brown  were  wounded  and  James 
Mount's  horse  shot  dead  under  him.  The  company  lost  twelve 
horses  in  this  part  of  the  fight.  Company  B  of  the  Third  Indiana 
here  came  to  the  support  of  Company  F  and  the  battalion,  which 
was  then  dismounted,  soon  had  the  rebels  routed  from  their  hiding 
place  and  on  the  run.  It  was  said  the  first  volley  of  Company  F 
killed  twelve  men  and  wounded  a  number  more;  a  number  of 
horses  were  left  dead  in  the  road.  The  Third  Cavalry  was 
ordered  to  hold  the  line  it  had  won,  and  while  so  holding  it  Ben 
jamin  Loder  of  Company  F  was  killed  and  two  or  three  others 
wounded.  There  was  skirmishing  at  this  point  for  two  or  three 
hours,  when  the  Third  Cavalry  was  ordered  to  mount  and  charge, 
which  they  did,  following  the  rebels  about  a  mile  and  a  half. 
Then  the  command  crossed  the  ford  at  Beautiful  river  and  was 
soon  on  its  way  to  camp  at  Stevensburg. 

On  the  10th  of  October,  1863,  General  Buford  was  ordered  to 
force  the  enemy's  line  at  Germania  Ford  (Vol.  XXIX,  page  348, 
Part  1),  drive  the  enemy  before  him  and  move  around  to 
Mortons  Ford  and  communicate  with  General  Newton,  com 
manding  the  First  Army  Corps,  who  was  instructed  to  force  a 
passage  there.  The  ford  was  passed  the  same  day  and  Mortons 
Ford  reached  that  night,  where  we  camped ;  the  enemy  being  there 
also  in  their  entrenchments.  The  First  Corps,  which  General 
Buford  expected  to  co-operate  with  him  the  next  day,  fell  back 
in  the  night.  In  this  camp  General  Buford  received  orders  that 
he  should  have  received  earlier — not  to  cross  the  Rapidan  at  all, 
but  to  return  and  recross  the  Rappahannock  at  the  station  or 
Kelleys. 

It  seems  that  after  this  forward  movement  had  been  ordered, 
information  had  been  received  that  Lee's  army  was  moving  by 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  97 

the  right  flank  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  by  way  of  Madison 
Court  House,  heading  for  Washington.  This  movement  caused 
a  change  in  the  plans  of  the  general  commanding  the  army,  but 
not  until  General  Buford  was  in  a  "hot  box."  He  says  (Vol. 
XXIX,  page  348)  :  "I  immediately  started  to  recross  the 
Rapidan  at  Mortons  Ford,  driving  the  enemy  from  his  inner 
works.  He  retired  towards  Raccoon ;  finding  he  was  not  followed 
and  receiving  reinforcements,  soon  returned  to  retard  my  crossing. 
The  ford  was  bad  and  had  to  be  repaired,  which  caused  some 
delay.  During  this  crossing  the  enemy  was  very  active  on  my  left 
flank,  skirmishing  and  crossing  the  river  above  at  Raccoon  Ford. 
This  latter  movement  was  discovered  in  time  to  foil  his  plans, 
Colonel  Chapman  with  all  his  brigade,  that  had  crossed,  being  sent 
to  check  him  while  Devin  crossed  his  command.  Colonel  Devin 
was  sorely  pressed  as  his  force  on  the  enemy's  side  was  decreased, 
but  by  frequent  dashing  and  telling  charges,  and  by  the  fire  from 
the  two  batteries  on  the  north  side,  kept  the  enemy  from  closing 
on  his  rear.  Colonel  Devin' s  command  on  this  occasion  was  beau 
tifully  handled,  fought  too  bravely  and  consequently  suffered 
quite  severely.  Captain  Conger,  Third  (West)  Virginia,  by  his 
courage  and  hard  fighting  won  the  admiration  of  all  who  saw  him. 
While  Colonel  Devin  was  doing  so  well,  Colonel  Chapman  with 
his  brigade  had  made  preparation  to  meet  the  force  that  had 
crossed  at  Raccoon,  and  a  very  warm  reception  he  gave  them.  He 
found  a  superior  force  of  cavalry  formed  and  ready  to  charge. 
He  speedily  made  his  dispositions  and  as  soon  as  completed  down 
came  this  overwhelming  force  of  cavalry  upon  him,  not  to  stay, 
however,  but  to  be  hurled  back  dismayed,  in  confusion  and  ter 
ribly  punished. 

"Shortly  after  the  rout  of  this  cavalry  its  support  (infantry 
force)  advanced  and  Colonel  Chapman  withdrew  from  his  posi 
tion  directly  towards  Stevensburg.  When  near  Stevensburg  the 
Second  Brigade  connected,  each  line  still  followed  closely  by  the 


98  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

enemy.  Seeing  a  number  of  wagons  passing  along  the  road  from 
Culpepper  through  Stevensburg,  towards  Kelleys,  I  determined  to 
make  a  stand  until  they  were  all  safe.  Here  the  division  fought 
the  enemy's  cavalry  until  its  support  came  up  with  long-range 
muskets.  The  division  then  withdrew,  making  an  obstinate  re 
sistance  at  Stevensburg  until  everything  was  safely  across  that 
nasty  stream,  Mountain  Run,  after  which  it  leisurely  retired  to 
Brandy  Station  without  a  great  deal  of  molestation  from  the 
enemy,  although  closely  followed  by  him.  To  my  surprise,  at 
Brandy  Station  I  found  the  rear  guard  of  the  Fifth  Corps  passing 
through  to  cross  the  Rappahannock.  I  knew  nothing  up  to  this 
time  of  how  extensive  this  retrograde  movement  of  our  army  was, 
and  here  learned  that  General  Pleasanton,  with  the  Third  Divis 
ion,  was  still  in  the  rear  of  the  Fifth  Corps.  Arrangements  were 
immediately  made  to  make  a  stand  until  the  Third  Division  should 
arrive.  The  enemy  seeing  the  Third  Division  across  the  open 
country,  and  being  out  of  my  sight,  turned  their  column  in  that 
direction.  The  Third  Division  soon  made  connection  with  my 
right.  As  soon  as  this  was  accomplished  the  Sixth  New  York 
charged,  followed  closely  by  the  Ninth  New  York,  and  regained 
the  advantage  that  the  enemy  supposed  he  had.  Here  occurred 
a  severe  hand-to-hand  fight,  Devin's  troops  using  the  saber.  The 
enemy  pressed  my  left  closely  in  retiring,  and  made  several  feints 
in  my  front,  but  by  8  p.  m.  the  division  was  across  the  Rappa 
hannock." 

The  next  day  after  this  fighting  and  experience  Buford's 
division,  the  advance  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  and  General  Sedgewick's 
corps,  all  under  the  command  of  General  Sedgewick,  recrossed  the 
Rappahannock  and  drove  the  pursuing  enemy  to  within  one  and 
one-half  miles  of  Culpepper.  The  men  killed  the  day  before  were 
buried  and  the  wounded  cared  for.  The  same  night  Sedgewick 
recrossed  the  Rappahannock,  Buford's  division  of  cavalry  bring 
ing  up  the  rear  and  crossing  the  river  about  daylight  on  the  13th 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  99 

of  October,  1863.  The  division  was  in  the  rear  of  our  army 
trains  which  were  at  Catletts  Station  and  Weaverville,  and  Bu- 
ford's  orders  were  to  guard  the  rear  and  flank  of  the  train  on  the 
march  from  the  Kappanhannock  to  Centerville  by  way  of  Brents- 
ville.  The  wagon  trains  began  moving  at  once  but  the  division 
lay  in  camp  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Rappahannock  until  the 
morning  of  the  14th.  Longstreets's  rebel  corps  had  crossed  the 
Rappahannock  on  the  night  of  the  13th  above  where  Buford's 
division  lay  and  made  a  bee  line  across  lots  for  the  army  train 
passing  at  Catletts  Station  and  Weaverville,  and  had  the  train 
almost  within  its  grasp  as  it  reached  Brentsville.  There  Warren's 
corps  of  our  army,  marching  on  the  south  side  of  the  Orange  & 
Alexandria  railroad  track,  seemed  to  rise  up  out  of  the  earth 
between  Longstreet's  advancing  troops  and  the  army  train  parked 
at  Brentsville,  and  a  furious  battle,  lasting  from  11  a.  m.  until 
after  dark,  ensued,  in  which  a  rebel  brigade  was  captured  just 
after  dark.  The  train  was  saved  and  moved  on  with  Buford's 
division  in  its  rear,  crossing  Broad  Run  and  Cedar  Run  with  the 
rebel  cavalry  still  in  pursuit.  Buford's  division  was  again  struck 
between  Cedar  Run  and  Bull  Run  by  the  enemy,  who  seemed  to 
suppose  they  would  strike  the  wagon  train  there.  The  division 
again  gave  him  battle  and  drove  him  back,  and  the  last  wagon 
safely  crossed  Bull  Run  and  was  parked  with  the  main  army  at 
Fairfax  Station. 

Thus  ended  the  pursuit  of  the  rebel  army  and  its  march  on 
Washington  and  the  scare  was  over.  Lee  fell  back  across  the  Rap 
pahannock  and  the  Rapidan  and  took  position  at  Mine  Run. 
Meade  moved  to  that  point  prepared  for  battle,  but  it  was  not 
fought.  Meade  then  fell  back  to  Culpepper  and  Stevensburg  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Rapidan  and  went  into  winter  quarters.  In 
all  that  strenuous  campaign  the  Third  Indiana  did  its  full  part 
and  was  glad  of  the  rest  that  came  with  winter. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

After  ten  companies  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  had  been 
in  the  field  something  over  a  year,  two  new  companies  were  or 
ganized  for  the  regiment  in  Indiana.  The  first  of  these  was  desig 
nated  Company  L;  its  officers,  Oliver  M.  Powers,  captain, 
George  J.  Langsdale,  first  lieutenant,  and  Simeon  J.  Mitchell, 
second  lieutenant,  were  mustered  into  the  service  on  the  23d  of 
October,  1862.  The  second  company  was  designated  Company  M ; 
its  officers,  Charles  U.  Patton,  captain,  James  W.  Haymond, 
first  lieutenant,  and  James  W.  Stephens,  second  lieutenant,  were 
mustered  into  the  service  on  the  llth  of  December,  1862.  Both 
of  these  companies  were  detained  within  the  State  until  Septem 
ber,  1863,  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  military  authorities  who 
had  charge  of  affairs  in  Indiana. 

At  the  last  named  date  these  two  companies  accompanied  a 
body  of  troops  under  General  O.  B.  Wilcox  that  were  sent  to  East 
Tennessee  by  way  of  Cincinnati  and  Cumberland  Gap.  These 
companies  performed  duty  with  General  Wilcox's  command  as 
an  independent  cavalry  organization  until  they  reached  Mary- 
ville,  East  Tennessee,  in  February,  1864,  when  they  joined  the 
other  four  companies  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Klein.  From 
that  time  on  these  six  companies  served  together  as  one  organiza 
tion  until  the  muster  out  of  Companies  G,  H,  I  and  K  in  October, 
1864,  after  the  fall  of  Atlanta  and  prior  to  the  march  to  the  sea. 

On  the  31st  of  January,  1864,  the  battalion  of  the  Third 
Indiana  Cavalry  was  in  the  Second  Brigade,  commanded  by  Col. 
William  W.  Lowe,  Second  Division  Cavalry,  Department  of  the 
Cumberland.  (Vol.  XXXII,  Part  2,  page  290.)  When  in  East 
Tennessee  they  were  under  the  orders  of  Ma j. -Gen.  J.  M.  Scho- 
field,  commanding  the  Army  of  the  Ohio. 

100 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIED  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  101 

On  the  26th  of  April,  1864,  General  Sherman  ordered  General 
Schofield  to  rendezvous  his  command,  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  at 
Charleston,  Tenn.,  to  become  the  left  wing  of  the  army  in  the 
Atlanta  campaign.  At  this  time  (Vol.  XXXVIII,  page  508) 
General  Schofield  says :  "The  cavalry  corps,  save  two  regiments, 
the  Tenth  Michigan  and  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  had  been  sent  to 
Kentucky  in  the  early  spring  to  be  remounted."  General  Schofield 
further  says,  "that  preparatory  to  carrying  out  General  Sherman's 
order,  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  main  body  of  the  troops  from  East 
Tennessee  it  was  necessary  to  drive  the  enemy  beyond  the  Wau- 
taga  river  and  effectually  destroy  the  railroad  bridges  so  as  to 
make  East  Tennessee  secure  from  invasion  by  the  enemy  in  force. 
This  was  thoroughly  accomplished  by  General  Cox's  division, 
aided  by  the  Tenth  Michigan  and  Third  Indiana  Cavalry." 

We  have  an  official  account,  in  a  measure,  of  the  work  per 
formed  in  the  latter  part  of  the  winter  of  1863-4  by  the  Third 
Indiana  Cavalry  in  East  Tennessee,  which  we  offer  as  the  best 
evidence  of  what  the  Western  battalion  was  doing  at  that  time. 
The  official  record  (Vol.  XXXII,  page  36,  Part  1)  reports  the 
Third  Indiana  Cavalry  at  Maryville,  East  Tennessee,  most  of  the 
month  of  January,  1864,  and  on  the  14th  of  January,  1864,  Col. 
Klein  makes  the  following  report: 

"Headquarters  Third  Indiana  Cavalry, 
"Maryville,  Tenn.,  January  14,  1864. 

"Sir — I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  following  in  regard  to  a 
late  expedition  from  my  command  up  the  Little  Tennessee  river, 
in  which  I  broke  up  a  nest  of  guerrillas  composed  of  absentees, 
deserters  and  paroled  soldiers  from  the  rebel  army,  and  rebel 
citizens,  who  had  been  stealing  stock  and  goods  from  loyal  citizens 
of  Blount  and  Monroe  counties,  and  taking  the  same  to  North 
Carolina  to  sell.  Their  force  was  variously  estimated  from  fifty 
to  two  hundred  strong,  camped  on  both  sides  of  the  Tennessee 


102  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

river,  at  a  place  known  as  Chilhowee,  twenty-four  miles  from  this 
place. 

"I  left  camp  with  100  men  on  the  llth  instant  at  3  p.  m.  and 
stopped  at  night  at  the  Harrison  Ford,  eight  miles  from  their 
camp,  until  next  morning.  At  early  dawn  I  attempted  to  throw 
half  my  forces  across  the  river,  which  was  difficult  swimming  for 
a  horse  all  the  way  across,  the  current  being  swift  and  much 
ice  running.  Here  I  lost  First  Sergt.  Bernard  Kraft,  Company 
K,  and  his  horse  by  drowning,  and  came  near  losing  more.  I  was 
only  able  to  get  twenty-eight  men  across  on  the  best  horses.  We 
then  moved  up  the  river  on  either  side,  in  concert,,  as  fast  as  the 
blockaded  roads  would  admit,  scattering  their  pickets  and  charg 
ing  into  their  camps,  routing  them  completely;  capturing  one 
captain,  one  first  lieutenant  and  twenty-one  men,  their  arms, 
horses,  equipments,  etc.,  without  further  loss  to  us.  The  prisoners 
have  been  put  in  charge  of  the  provost  marshal  of  this  county  to 
forward  to  General  Carter.  The  horses,  arms  and  equipments 
were  taken  up  on  my  quartermaster's  return. 

"Having  no  intermediate  headquarters  to  report  to,  I  make  this 
report  direct  to  your  headquarters. 

"Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"EGBERT  KLEIN, 
"Lieutenant-Colonel,  Commanding. 

"Assistant  Adjutant-General, 

"Headquarters  Department  of  the  Ohio." 

From  Headquarters,  Third  Division,  Twenty-third  Army 
Corps,  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  February  21,  1864,  Brig. -Gen.  Milo  S. 
Hascall,  U.  S.  Army,  made  the  following  report  (Vol.  XXXII, 
Part  1,  page  409)  : 

"Major — While  I  was  visiting  my  command  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river  yesterday  the  enemy  attacked  my  picket  posts  on  the 
Sevierville  road,  and  showed  themselves  rather  prominently  on 
all  the  roads.  I  thought  best  to  ascertain  what  was  in  our  front, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  103 

and  accordingly  took  the  Fourth  Tennessee  Infantry,  under  Major 
Patterson,  about  150  or  175  men,  and  the  left  wing  of  the  Third 
Indiana  Cavalry,  under  Lieut.-Col.  Robert  Klein,  about  200  men 
in  ranks,  and  started  out  on  the  Sevierville  road,  the  infantry  in 
advance.  About  a  mile  out  we  encountered  the  enemy's  outpost, 
which  was  promptly  driven  away  by  the  infantry.  As  soon  as  we 
had  the  rebels  fairly  started  in  retreat  I  directed  Colonel  Klein 
to  go  forward  with  his  men  and  press  the  enemy  vigorously  till 
he  ascertained  how  much  force  they  had.  He  at  once  obeyed  the 
order  and  fell  upon  them  with  great  vigor,  pushing  them  back 
about  two  or  three  miles  farther.  Finally  with  two  companies  he 
charged  upon  the  Fourth  and  Eighth  Tennessee  (rebel)  Cavalry 
and  succeeded  in  cutting  off  some  200  of  them,  but  could  only 
bring  off  ten  of  them,  one  of  whom  was  the  adjutant  of  the 
Eighth  Tennessee.  Having  now  ascertained  from  citizens  and 
the  prisoner  taken  that  it  was  two  brigades  of  Martin's  (rebel) 
cavalry  that  we  were  contending  with,  and  not  deeming  it  prudent 
to  push  any  farther  with  my  small  force,  as  compared  with  theirs, 
I  directed  them  to  withdraw.  Colonel  Klein  lost  six  men 
wounded,  one  of  whom  will  die.  The  whole  affair  was  very  well 
executed  by  Colonel  Klein  and  proves  him  to  be  a  remarkably 
efficient  officer.  His  men  also  behaved  themselves  in  the  most 
creditable  manner.  There  were  no  casualties  in  the  infantry 
force.  I  forward  the  report  of  Colonel  Klein. 

"All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

"MiLO  S.  HASCALL, 
"Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers,  Commanding  Division. 

"Maj.  G.  M.  BASCOM, 

"Assistant  Adjutant-General  Twenty-third  Army  Corps." 

Camp  near  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  February  21,  1864  (Vol.  XXXII, 
Part  1,  page  410)  : 


104  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

"Sir — I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  following  as  the  part 
taken  by  my  command  in  the  affair  of  yesterday  on  the  Sevier- 
ville  road: 

"After  the  enemy's  outposts  were  driven  beyond  our  vidette 
station,  by  General  Hascall's  order  I  passed  to  the  front  with 
four  companies,  leaving  one  company  to  guard  against  a  move 
ment  around  our  rear.  I  soon  met  the  enemy  in  considerable 
force  and  skirmished  (both  mounted  and  dismounted)  with  them, 
driving  them  slowly  until  by  a  charge  we  drove  the  Fourth  and 
Eighth  Tennessee  Cavalry  to  where  the  remainder  of  their  force 
was  dismounted  and  in  line.  Here  I  had  every  man  'in'  hotly 
engaged,  when,  finding  the  odds  too  great  against  us,  I  thought 
it  prudent  to  withdraw,  which  was  done  in  good  order.  As  fruits 
of  the  engagement  I  brought  off  one  adjutant  (Eighth  Tennessee), 
nine  men  and  ten  horses,  and  some  arms,  etc. 

"My  loss  was  six  men  wounded  (one  mortally),  twelve  horses 
left  on  the  field  and  six  stands  of  arms.  The  enemy's  loss  was 
greater,  so  far  as  could  be  observed.  Five  are  known  to  be  killed. 
We  had  at  one  time  as  many  as  200  men  cut  off,  but  were  too  weak 
to  hold  them. 

"Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"ROBERT  KLEIN, 

"Lieutenant-Colonel  Commanding. 
"Capt.  EDMUND  R.  KERSTETTER, 
"Assistant  Adjutant-General." 

In  the  record  (Vol.  XXXII,  page  496),  covering  a  report  by 
Capt.  John  W.  Hammond,  commanding  the  Sixty-fifth  Indiana 
Mounted  Infantry,  at  Chucky  Bend  on  Chucky  river,  dated 
March  13,  1864,  we  find  the  capture  of  a  rebel  scouting  party  by 
the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  that  had  been  pursuing  Captain  Ham 
mond's  command,  near  Bulls  Gap.  In  a  report  of  General  Scho- 
field's,  dated  April  15,  1864  (page  670),  he  says:  "The  Third 
Indiana  Cavalry,  reconnoitering  beyond  Greenville  on  the  14th, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  105 

surprised  a  body  of  rebel  cavalry,  killing  ten,  capturing  fifteen, 
including  their  leader,  Reynolds." 

Special  Orders  No.  93,  dated  Department  of  the  Cumberland, 
April  2,  1864,  providing  for  the  cavalry  organization  of  that 
army,  assigned  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  to  the  First  Brigade 
of  the  Third  Division,  commanded  by  Col.  William  W.  Lowe,  of 
the  Fifth  Iowa  Cavalry.  After  this  assignment  Gen.  J.  D.  Cox 
reports  that  he  has  the  Third  Indiana  at  Lick  Creek,  on  the  Wau- 
taga  river,  guarding  his  wagon  trains,  and  that  the  battalion  had 
also  been  assigned  the  duty  of  destroying  the  bridge  over  the  Wau- 
taga  river  at  that  point. 

The  official  record  indicates  that  the  mounted  service  in  East 
Tennessee  in  the  latter  part  of  the  winter  of  1863  and  the  early 
part  of  1864  was  to  a  large  extent  inefficient,  the  horses  having 
been  starved  and  worn  out  by  the  campaigns  of  the  early  autumn 
and  winter,  and  these  broken  down  troops  had  been  sent  to  Ken 
tucky  to  be  remounted.  The  few  cavalry  organizations  fit  for 
service  had  more  than  their  share  of  work  to  perform.  This  was 
particularly  true  of  the  Tenth  Michigan  and  Third  Indiana  Cav 
alry  regiments,  that  were  well  mounted  and  always  on  the  move. 
So  true  was  this  of  these  troops  that  General  Cox,  in  an  order 
issued  at  Strawberry  Plains  on  the  22d  of  March,  1864,  to  Gen. 
Stoneman,  directed  that  if  any  of  Colonel  Klein's  men  were  dis 
mounted  to  mount  them  by  dismounting  men  of  Colonel  Garrard's 
command,  and  the  same  order  applied  to  the  Tenth  Michigan. 
(Vol.  XXXII,  page  110.) 

There  was  no  change  in  this  character  of  the  service  for  the 
Western  battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  until  the  organi 
zation  of  the  cavalry  forces  by  General  Sherman  for  the  Atlanta 
campaign,  on  the  2d  of  May,  1864,  when  we  had  the  battalion 
commanded  by  Major  Gaddis  attached  to  the  First  Brigade  (com 
manded  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Klein)  of  the  Third  Division, 
commanded  by  General  Kilpatrick.  From  that  time  on  we  .have 


106  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

their  history  in  the  reports  of  division,  and,  too  seldom,  brigade 
and  regimental  commanders.  E"ot  in  detail,  but  in  a  general  way, 
they  tell  us  that  they  were  a  part  of  that  mighty  and  irresistible 
army  under  General  Sherman  that  bore  down  all  before  it  in  its 
march  on  Atlanta,  and  in  its  terrible  conflicts  around  that  stormy 
center  until  the  army  cut  loose  and  went  on  its  march  to  the  sea. 
In  that  wonderful  march  it  will  ever  be  a  source  of  pride  that  a 
part  of  our  regiment  had  some  honorable  part. 

On  the  2d  of  May,  1864,  General  Schofield  moved  from 
Charleston,  Tenn.,  to  Dalton,  Ga.,  with  a  force  of  11,183  infantry, 
678  artillery  and  1,697  cavalry,  making  a  total  of  13,565  men, 
and  at  the  latter  point  was  reinforced  by  4,105  infantry,  115  ar 
tillery  and  1,493  cavalry,  bringing  the  Army  of  the  Ohio  up  to 
19,268  men  of  all  arms.  Major-General  Stoneman  commanded 
the  cavalry  corps  and  General  Kilpatrick  commanded  the  Third 
Division  of  that  corps. 

On  the  2d  of  May,  1864  (Vol.  XXXVIII,  page  855),  from 
Ringold,  Ga.,  General  Kilpatrick  reports  that  under  orders  from 
headquarters  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  he  made  a  recon- 
noissance  with  all  his  effective  force  in  the  direction  of  Tunnell 
Hill.  "I  moved  through  Hookers  Gap  at  4:30  a.  m.,  met  the 
enemy  one  mile  from  Stone  Church,  drove  him  from  one  position 
to  another,  and  finally  from  his  first  camp  at  Tunnell  Hill. 

"Here  he  was  found  in  large  force,  occupying  a  strong  position. 
The  report  of  yesterday  that  the  enemy  had  left  Tunnell  Hill 
was  a  mistake,  although  I  think  he  has  cavalry  only,  possibly,  too, 
some  artillery  was  used.  My  loss  today  is  two  killed,  one  mor 
tally  and  two  severely  wounded." 

Continuing  (Vol.  XXXVIII,  page  857),  General  Kilpatrick 
says:  "My  command  left  its  encampment  at  Ringold,  Ga.,  at 
3  a.  m.  May  7,  1864,  crossed  Taylors  Ridge  through  Nickajack 
Trace,  forced  back  the  rebel  cavalry  covering  the  masking  move 
ments  of  the  Twentieth  Corps,  Major-General  Hooker  command- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  107 

ing,  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  encamped  near  Trickum 
Postoffice,  May  7,  1864.  May  8,  1864,  moved  to  Villanow  and 
opened  communication  with  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  Major- 
General  McPherson  commanding.  Received  orders  and  reported 
with  my  command  to  Major-General  McPherson  on  the  south  side 
of  Stony  Face  Ridge,  at  the  entrance  of  Snake  Creek  Gap.  Made 
reconnoissance  and  scouted  the  country  during  the  9th,  10th, 
llth  and  12th  of  May,  1864.  Led  the  advance  of  the  Army  of  the 
Tennessee  in  the  attack  on  Resaca,  drove  the  enemy's  cavalry 
and  infantry  skirmish  line  back  behind  their  works,  masking  the 
movements  of  our  infantry  until  the  force  of  the  enemy  was  too 
great  to  contend  with  longer,  when  I  was  relieved  by  the  infantry 
and  the  command  took  post,  on  the  evening  of  May  13,  on  the 
right  of  our  army,  then  in  line  of  battle  before  Resaca.  I  re 
luctantly  on  the  evening  of  the  13th  resigned  command  of  the 
division,  and  proceeded  to  my  home  in  the  East  to  recover  from 
wounds  received  during  the  day.  The  command  devolved  on  Col. 
Murray,  and  afterwards  on  Colonel  Lowe." 

Colonel  Murray's  report  as  the  successor  of  General  Kilpatrick 
in  command  of  the  division  is  found  at  page  862  of  the  same  vol 
ume,  in  which  he  says :  "I  proceeded  to  carry  out  the  instructions 
of  Major-General  Sherman,  namely,  to  take  possession  of  the  cross 
roads,  thereby  covering  the  formation  of  our  infantry  lines,  which 
being  accomplished,  in  further  pursuance  of  these  orders  put  my 
command  in  reserve,  reporting  to  the  general  commanding.  By 
his  instruction  Lays  Ferry  was  taken  possession  of,  picketing  it 
at  night.  On  the  14th  moved,  making  demonstrations  at  Gideons, 
Calhoun  and  Lays  Ferry.  At  Calhoun,  owing  to  the  formation 
of  the  banks  and  the  direction  of  the  stream,  the  guns  of  the 
enemy  completely  covered  the  crossing.  On  the  15th  moved  to 
Calhoun  Ferry;  16th,  moved  with  the  command  across  a  pontoon 
at  Lays  Ferry;  17th,  kept  communication  between  General 
Thomas'  column,  moving  on  the  Adairville  road,  and  that  of  Gen. 


108  HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

McPherson,  on  the  road  to  McGuire's.  Colonel  Baldwin,  with 
his  regiment,  moving  in  advance  of  General  Logan,  encountered 
the  enemy  and  successfully  drove  him  all  day.  On  the  18th 
moved  to  Adairsville;  19th,  to  Kingston,  hy  a  road  parallel  to  that 
occupied  by  the  moving  columns  of  the  Armies  of  the  Cumberland 
and  Tennessee,  reporting  to  General  Elliott,  Chief  of  Cavalry, 
Department  of  the  Cumberland;  on  the  20th  moved  to  a  point 
near  headquarters,  Department  of  the  Cumberland,  on  Cassville 
road,  opening  up  communication  with  Major-General  Hooker; 
21st,  turned  over  command  to  Colonel  Lowe." 

General  Elliott,  Chief  of  Cavalry,  says  (Vol.  XXXVIII,  Part 
2,  page  747)  :  aThe  Third  Division  under  Col.  W.  W.  Lowe, 
General  Kilpatrick  being  absent  wounded,  was  left  at  Kingston 
to  guard  the  line  of  the  Etowah  river,  with  orders  to  obstruct  all 
fords,  hold  Gillems  Bridge,  but  to  remove  the  planks  from  flooring 
to  prevent  its  use  by  the  enemy,  and  destroy  all  other  bridges 
which  might  possibly  be  used  by  them.  The  division  was  subse 
quently  assigned  as  follows:  Third  Brigade  at  Calhoun,  head 
quarters,  with  remainder  of  division  at  Cartersville,  Ga.,  with 
orders  to  patrol  the  line  of  railroad  and  scout  from  Cartersville 
to  Spring  Place,  Ga." 

Col.  W.  W.  Lowe  reports  briefly  from  Adairsville,  June  4, 
1864;  from  Kingston,  Ga.,  June  10,  June  11,  June  16,  June  23 ; 
from  Cartersville,  Ga.,  July  7,  9,  12,  14  and  18,  all  briefly  re 
counting  scouts,  skirmishes  and  captures  of  small  bodies  of  the 
enemy  and  of  property  by  various  small  bodies  of  his  command. 
On  the  2d  of  July  General  Kilpatrick  returned  to  his  command 
at  Cartersville,  Ga.,  relieving  Colonel  Lowe. 

Resuming  his  report  (Vol.  XXXVIII,  page  858),  General 
Kilpatrick  says:  "I  left  Cartersville  August  3,  1864,  and  en 
camped  at  Sandtown,  on  the  Chattahoochee.  On  the  15th  crossed 
the  Chattahoochee,  took  up  position  on  the  south  side,  fortified 
and  remained  in  camp  until  5  p.  m.  on  the  15th,  when  Colonel 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  109 

Garrard  crossed  Camp  creek,  tore  up  portions  of  the  railroad 
below  Sideling  and  destroyed  the  depot  at  Fairburn  containing 
government  stores.  On  my  return,  scouting  the  country  between 
Fairburn  and  the  enemy's  position  at  Sandtown.  I  left  my  camp 
on  the  evening  of  the  16th  of  August  with  the  Third  Cavalry 
Division  and  two  brigades  of  the  Second,  and  two  batteries  of 
artillery,  with  4,500  men,  to  attack  and  destroy  the  enemy's  com 
munications.  Pickets  from  the  Sixth  Texas  were  met  and  driven 
across  Camp  creek,  and  the  regiment  routed  from  its  camp  a  mile 
beyond  at  10  o'clock  in  the  evening.  At  12 :30  a.  m.  General 
Ross'  brigade,  1,100  strong,  was  driven  from  my  front  in  the 
direction  of  East  Point  and  held  from  the  road  by  the  Second 
Brigade,  Third  Division  (Lieutenant-Colonel  Jones),  while  the 
entire  command  passed.  The  West  Point  railroad  was  reached 
and  a  portion  of  the  track  destroyed  at  daylight.  Here  General 
Ross  attacked  my  rear.  He  was  repulsed  and  I  moved  on  the  Fay- 
etteville  road,  where  I  again  found  him  in  my  front.  He  slowly 
retired  in  the  direction  of  Jonesborough,  and  crossed  Flint  River 
at  2  p.  m.,  destroying  the  bridge. 

"Under  cover  of  my  artillery,  Colonels  Minty  and  Long,  com 
manding  detachments  from  their  brigades,  crossed  the  river  and 
drove  the  enemy  from  his  rifle  pits.  The  bridge  was  repaired  and 
the  entire  command  crossed  and  occupied  Jonesborough  at  5  p.  m., 
driving  the  enemy's  cavalry  in  confusion  from  the  town.  I  now 
learned  that  the  telegraph  and  railroad  had  been  destroyed  at  Bear 
Creek  Station  at  11  a.  m.  by  a  portion  of  my  command  under 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Klein  and  that  General  Armstrong  had  passed 
through  Jonesborough  in  that  direction  at  1  p.  m.  For  six  hours 
my  command  was  engaged  destroying  the  road.  At  11  o'clock 
Colonel  Murray's  division  was  attacked  one  mile  below  the  town 
and  driven  back.  I  now  suspended  operations  upon  the  road  and 
attacked  the  enemy  and  drove  him  one  mile  and  a  half. 


110  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

"Fearing  an  attack  in  the  direction  of  Atlanta,  I  moved  before 
daylight  in  the  direction  of  Covington,  five  miles,  and  halted  and 
allowed  the  enemy  to  come  up ;  left  one  brigade  to  engage  his  at 
tention  and  moved  rapidly  in  the  direction  of  McDonough,  six 
miles,  thence  across  the  country  to  the  Fayetteville  road,  and 
reached  the  railroad  one  mile  above  Love  joys  Station  at  11  a.  m. 
on  the  20th  instant. 

"On  attempting  to  move  on  the  station  I  encountered  a  brigade 
of  infantry  and  was  repulsed.  I  and  my  command  were  only 
saved  by  the  prompt  and  daring  bravery  of  Colonels  Minty  and 
Long  and  Captain  Estes,  my  assistant  adjutant-general.  The 
enemy  were  finally  checked  and  driven  back  with  heavy  loss.  We 
captured  one  battle  flag.  At  this  moment  a  staff  officer  from  Col. 
Murray  informed  me  that  a  large  force  of  cavalry,  with  artillery, 
had  attacked  his  rear.  In  twenty  minutes  I  found  that  I  was 
completely  enveloped  by  cavalry  and  infantry  with  artillery. 

"I  decided  at  once  to  ride  over  the  enemy's  cavalry  and  retire 
over  the  McDonough  road.  A  large  number  of  my  people  were  dis 
mounted,  fighting  on  foot,  it  taking  some  time  to  mount  them  and 
form  my  command  for  the  charge.  During  the  delay  the  enemy 
constructed  long  lines  of  barricades  on  every  side.  Those  in  front 
of  his  cavalry  were  very  formidable.  Pioneers  were  sent  in  ad 
vance  of  the  charging  column  to  remove  the  obstructions.  Colonel 
Minty,  with  his  command  in  three  columns,  charged,  broke  and 
rode  over  the  enemy's  left.  Colonel  Murray  with  his  regiments 
broke  their  center,  and  in  a  moment  General  Jackson's  division, 
4,000  strong,  was  running  in  great  confusion.  It  was  the  most 
perfect  rout  any  cavalry  had  sustained  during  the  war.  We  cap 
tured  four  guns  (three  were  destroyed  and  one  brought  off)  ;  three 
battle  flags  were  taken;  his  ambulances,  wagons  and  ordnance 
train  captured  and  destroyed  as  far  as  possible;  many  prisoners 
were  taken  and  his  killed  and  wounded  is  known  to  be  large.  My 
command  was  quickly  re-formed;  thrown  into  position,  fought 


HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  Ill 

successfully  the  enemy's  infantry  for  one  hour  and  forty  minutes, 
and  only  retired  when  we  found  that  we  had  left  only  sufficient 
ammunition  to  make  sure  our  retreat. 

"We  swam  Cotton  Indian  creek  and  crossed  South  river  on  the 
morning  of  the  21st  and  reached  our  lines  near  Decatur  by  way  of 
Lithonia,  without  molestation,  at  2  p.  m.  August  22.  We  ef 
fectively  destroyed  four  miles  of  the  Macon  road,  from  Jones- 
borough  to  Bear  Creek  Station,  a  distance  of  ten  miles.  One  train 
of  cars  was  completely  and  a  second  partially  destroyed.  We 
brought  into  camp  one  gun,  three, battle  flags,  a  large  number  of 
fresh  horses  and  mules  and  about  fifty  prisoners.  My  entire  loss 
in  killed,  wounded  and  missing  will  not  exceed  three  hundred  men. 
Two  hundred  of  this  number  were  killed  and  wounded.  Only  the 
dangerously  wounded  were  left  with  the  enemy. 

"August  25  I  moved  with  my  command  to  Stevens  Cross  Roads, 
one  mile  and  a  half  beyond  Union  Church ;  went  into  camp,  cov 
ering  the  entire  country  in  front  of  the  right  flank  of  the  Army  of 
the  Tennessee,  which  had  made  its  first  day's  march  with  the  grand 
army  in  its  movement  upon  the  enemy's  communications.  At 
6  a.  m.  August  26  the  command  moved  in  advance  of  and  upon 
the  right  flank  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  masking  its  move 
ments;  drove  the  enemy's  cavalry,  under  Brigadier-General  Ross, 
to  and  beyond  the  railroad,  and  went  into  camp,  August  27,  on 
the  right  of  the  army  at  Fairburn. 

"In  the  movement  upon  the  Macon  railroad  at  Jonesborough 
my  command  had  the  advance  and,  with  the  assistance  of  two  regi 
ments  of  infantry,  the  Second  and  Seventh  Iowa  Regiments, 
Majors  Hamill  and  Mahon  commanding,  steadily  forced  the 
enemy  back  to  within  three  miles  of  Renfro  Place,  the  cavalry 
moving  on  the  right  flank  up  to  this  point.  Here  the  Ninety- 
second  Illinois  Mounted  Infantry  under  the  direction  of  Captain 
Estes,  my  assistant  adjutant-general,  pushed  in  ahead  of  the  in 
fantry,  rushed  the  enemy  back  to  and  across  Flint  river,  saved  the 


112  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

bridge,  crossed  and  took  possession  of  the  rifle  pits  beyond;  a 
brigade  of  infantry  having  been  thrown  across  and  pushed  up  the 
hill  in  the  direction  of  the  station  to  the  left  of  Jonesborough. 

"I  rapidly  crossed  three  regiments  of  cavalry,  moved  in  and 
drove  the  enemy  from  the  high  hills  on  the  right,  while  Captain 
Estes  with  the  Ninety-second  Illinois  made  a  daring  but  unsuc 
cessful  attempt  to  reach  the  railroad.  This  attack,  made  as  night 
was  closing  in,  and  although  with  considerable  loss,  yet  resulted 
most  favorable  to  the  success  of  the  operations  during  the  night  and 
the  following  morning,  the  brigade  of  infantry  having  been  pushed 
in  well  towards  the  station,  far  to  the  left  of  Jonesborough.  This 
determined  attack  of  cavalry  dismounted  a  mile  to  the  right,  with 
considerable  infantry  skirmishing  between,  forced  the  enemy  to 
believe  that  a  heavy  force  of  infantry  had  crossed,  and  there  waited 
instead  of  making  an  attack,  which  might  have  proved  disastrous. 
My  cavalry  was  relieved  by  infantry  during  the  night,  recrossed 
Flint  river  the  following  morning  and  moved  to  Anthonys  Bridge 
one  mile  below.  The  bridge  having  been  burned,  was  quickly 
rebuilt  and  a  portion  of  the  command  passed  over  and  was  pushed 
well  in  upon  the  enemy's  flank  near  the  direction  of  the  railroad. 

"During  the  day  a  daring  and  successful  attempt  was  made  by 
Captain  Qualman  (Third  Indiana  Cavalry)  with  a  portion  of  the 
Third  Indiana  Cavalry  to  reach  the  railroad  and  telegraph.  A 
section  of  the  road  was  torn  up  and  a  mile  of  telegraph  wire  was 
brought  away,  with  the  loss  of  one  man  killed.  At  3  :30  p.  m.  of 
the  same  day  (August  31)  the  enemy  made  a  determined  attack 
upon  the  infantry  on  my  left.  It  seemed  to  be  the  intention  of 
the  enemy  to  break  or  turn  our  right  flank.  At  first  he  entirely 
ignored  my  command.  This  I  determined  he  should  not  do.  Five 
regiments  of  cavalry,  dismounted,  were  in  position  behind  barri 
cades  directly  in  the  flanks  of  the  charging  column.  My  artillery 
was  in  most  favorable  position.  I  directed  the  artillery  to  com 
mence  firing  on  the  advancing  column  of  the  enemy,  and  the  cav- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  113 

airy  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  to  meet  and  attack  him. 
This  attack  was  determined  and  gallantly  made.  The  enemy  was 
forced  to  turn  and  meet  it.  He  moved  down  in  heavy  columns, 
twice  charged  and  was  twice  repulsed,  but  finally  forced  by  my 
people  to  retire  from  their  rail  barricades  and  across  the  river.  A 
portion  of  the  enemy  succeeded  in  crossing,  were  met  by  the 
Ninety-second  Illinois,  dismounted,  and  repulsed. 

"We  held  the  bridge  until  relieved  by  the  infantry  under  Gen. 
Blair  in  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day,  when  we  moved  to 
Glass  Bridge,  below  Lovejoys  Station.  We  repaired  the  bridge, 
which  had  been  burned  by  the  enemy,  crossed  and  maintained  our 
position  upon  the  opposite  side  for  two  days,  constantly  annoying 
the  enemy's  flank  and  rear,  repulsing  with  loss  every  attack  he 
made.  We  formed  a  junction  with  the  right  of  the  infantry  of  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee  near  Lovejoys  Station  September  3.  Re 
mained  in  this  position  until  11  o'clock  September  5  and  then 
moved  back,  first  to  Anthonys  Bridge,  then  to  Red  Oak  and  finally 
to  Sandtown,  having  covered  the  rear  and  flank  of  the  Army  of 
the  Tennessee  in  its  retrograde  movement  from  Lovejoys  Station 
to  its  present  position. 

"Before  closing  my  report,  I  desire  to  assure  the  chief  of 
cavalry  that  the  officers  and  men  of  my  command  have  endeavored 
zealously  and  faithfully  to  discharge  every  duty  assigned  them, 
and  I  only  hope  that  he  and  those  of  my  seniors  in  rank  are  as 
well  satisfied  with  my  conduct  as  I  am  with  the  efforts  of  my 
command. 

"Respectfully  submitted, 

"J.  KILPATRICK, 

"Brigadier-General  U.  S.  Volunteers,  Commanding." 

On  the  23d  of  August,  1864,  at  Sandtown,  Ga.,  Lieut-Col. 
Klein,  who  had  been  in  command  of  the  First  Brigade,  Third 
Cavalry  Division,  for  three  days  from  the  18th  of  August,  makes 
this  report  (Vol.  XXXVIII,  page  868)  : 


114  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

"At  11  p.  m.  of  the  18th  instant,  with  my  command  of  thirteen 
officers  and  292  men,  I  left  the  main  column  at  Steven's  farm, 
seven  miles  from  the  railroad  at  Fairburn.  Agreeably  to  instruc 
tions  I  tore  up  a  portion  of  the  track  and  telegraph  wire,  and  at 
2  a.  m.  on  the  19th  moved  on  Fayetteville  road,  reaching  that 
place  at  7  a.  m.,  meeting  a  small  force  and  capturing  some  pris 
oners,  forty  mules  and  twenty  wagons,  the  latter  of  which  were 
burned.  Moved  on  Griffin  road  to  near  Mount  Zion  Church, 
turned  to  the  left,  crossed  Flint  river  eight  miles  from  Fayette- 
ville  and  eight  miles  from  Fayette  Station  on  Macon  railroad,  at 
which  point  I  intended  striking,  but  by  a  mistake  of  our  guide 
struck  railroad  four  miles  above  Fayette  at  Bear  Creek  Station 
at  11  a.  m.  Commenced  tearing  up  track  and  telegraph  wire,  de 
stroying  over  one  solid  mile  at  intervals  of  three  miles  along  the 
road  towards  Love  joys  Station,  and  three  miles  of  wire,  taking  it 
down,  reeling  and  hiding  it.  The  railroad  ties  were  piled  up  and 
iron  laid  on  them  and  burned. 

"At  Bear  Creek  captured  a  train  of  nine  cars  loaded  with 
whisky,  meal,  wheat,  lard  and  railroad  trucks.  This  train  was 
run  off  railroad  in  a  deep  cut  and  burned.  When  three  miles 
towards  Lovejoys  heard  another  train  coming  and  succeeded  in 
cutting  it  off  between  Lovejoys  and  the  destroyed  track,  but  I 
found  the  guard  of  infantry  too  strong,  and  was  disposing  of  my 
force  for  a  united  attempt  to  take  it  when  a  cavalry  force  came  in 
on  my  flank,  compelling  me  to  defend  myself  in  that  quarter.  In 
a  charge  some  prisoners  were  captured,  from  whom  I  learned  that 
Ferguson's  and  Armstrong's  brigades  of  cavalry  were  upon  me 
and  Reynolds'  infantry  brigade  also  advancing.  Under  the  cir 
cumstances  I  deemed  it  prudent  to  get  out  of  there.  I  had  one 
open  road,  across  the  bridge  I  had  come  over  in  the  morning,  or  I 
could  have  gone  towards  Griffin,  which  would  have  been  certain 
capture,  for  I  had  given  up  the  prospect  of  meeting  with  the  re 
mainder  of  the  expedition.  ISFot  being  able  to  hear  of  them 


HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  115 

from  prisoners  captured  on  the  train  or  through  Chapman's  or 
Ferguson's  men,  I  decided  to  fall  back  on  the  road  I  had  come 
and  put  my  decision  in  immediate  execution,  leaving  railroad  at 
4 :30  p.  m.  When  I  reached  the  bridge  across  Flint  river  I  found 
it  torn  up  by  the  enemy,  but  a  friendly  rail  fence  supplied  the 
place  of  planks,  and  my  column  was  soon  over  and  the  bridge  in 
flames.  When  within  two  miles  of  Fayetteville  the  enemy  came 
in  on  my  rear,  via  the  ford  from  Love  joys  Station  to  Fayetteville, 
and  kept  up  a  brisk  fire  with  my  rear  guard,  warming  up  as  we 
neared  the  town,  when  they  opened  on  us  in  front,  being  posted  in 
front  and  in  the  town.  We  scattered  them  by  a  saber  charge  and 
were  not  much  harassed  by  them  afterward.  I  passed  through 
Fairburn  at  7  :30  p.  m.,  one  hour  and  a  half  after  an  infantry 
force,  intending  to  intercept  us,  had  moved  farther  down  in  antici 
pation  of  meeting  us.  I  remained  the  balance  of  the  night  near 
Steven's  farm,  reaching  Sandtown  at  11  a.  m.,  20th  instant.  I 
brought  in  with  me  seventeen  prisoners  and  forty  mules.  My  cas 
ualties  were  two  men  wounded  and  three  captured. 

"I  am,  Captain,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"ROBERT  KLEIN, 
"Lieutenant-Colonel  Commanding. " 

After  Colonel  Klein  returned  from  this  expedition  we  get  an 
account  of  the  battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  next  in  the 
report  of  Maj.  J.  Morris  Young,  Fifth  Iowa  Cavalry,  command 
ing  the  First  Brigade,  Third  Cavalry  Division,  from  August  26 
to  September  8,  1864,  found  at  page  869,  Vol.  XXXVIII,  in 
which  that  officer  says : 

"At  New  Hope  Church,  August  29,  10  a.  m.,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Klein  reported  himself  sick,  and  the  command  of  the  brigade  de 
volved  on  me." 

This  report  was  written  at  East  Point,  Ga.,  September  8,  1864. 
Major  Young  says  "that  at  1  p.  m.  August  31  Captain  Qualman, 
Company  K,  and  Captain  Young,  Company  H,  Third  Indiana 


116  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

Cavalry,  were  sent  (from  the  crossing  of  Flint  river  due  west  of 
Jonesborough)  with  100  picked  men  to  cut  the  railroad  a  few 
miles  below  here.  The  balance  of  the  brigade  commenced  bar 
ricading  and  prepared  to  hold  the  opposite  side  of  Flint  river.  At 
2 :30  p.  m.  a  demonstration  was  ordered  by  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Jones,  Eighth  Indiana  Cavalry,  commanding  the  Second  Brigade, 
in  favor  of  Captains  Qualman  and  Young.  A  few  moments  past 
3  p.  m.  our  barricades  were  not  as  yet  completed,  Lieut. -Col. 
Jones,  with  the  Third  and  Eighth  Indiana  in  the  advance  barri 
cade  and  myself  with  the  Fifth  Iowa  and  Tenth  Ohio  in  the  rear 
one,  when  the  rebels  attacked  and  soon  developed  a  force  that  was 
speedily  enveloping  the  command.  The  rear  barricade  was  held 
till  all  were  in  from  the  front,  when  the  ammunition  was  out 
and  our  whole  force  retired  across  the  river,  remounted  and 
formed.  In  this  last  engagement  the  brigade  lost  one  killed,  six 
wounded  and  seven  missing.  At  6  p.  m.  Captains  Qualman  and 
Young  returned  with  their  command,  having  fully  accomplished 
their  object,  and,  although  constantly  skirmishing  with  the  enemy, 
without  a  casualty.  Barricaded  and  bivouacked  for  the  night  near 
former  camp.  The  gallant  and  successful  undertaking  of 
Captains  Qualman  and  Young,  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  is  worthy 

of  more  than  passing  notice. 

"J.  MORRIS  YOUNG, 

"Major  Commanding  First  Brigade,  Third  Cavalry  Division/' 

The  report  of  Maj.  Alfred  Gaddis  (Vol.  XXXVIII,  page 
872),  dated  September  8,  1864,  from  Headquarters  Left  Wing 
Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  covers  specially  the  operation  of  the  bat 
talion  from  August  26.  That  officer  says: 

"August  26,  1864,  left  camp  at  Sandtown  at  12  p.  m.  with  my 
command  of  nine  commissioned  officers  and  204  men.  Marched 
to  Camp  Creek  and  bivouacked  for  the  night.  August  27  took 
the  advance  of  the  division,  met  the  enemy's  pickets  one  and  a 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  117 

half  miles  south  of  Camp  Creek,  charged  and  drove  them  one 
mile  east  of  Stevens  Cross  Koads  and  formed  line  of  battle.  Were 
relieved  by  Colonel  Murray's  brigade.  Went  into  camp  at 
Stevens  Cross  Roads  for  the  night.  August  28  advanced  to  New 
Hope  Church.  One  hundred  men  under  Captain  Qualman,  Com 
pany  K,  and  Lieutenant  White,  Company  H,  were  detached  at 
Stevens  Cross  Roads  and  sent  by  way  of  Fairburn.  Encountered 
about  forty  confederate  cavalry  near  Fairburn.  Drove  them 
through  the  town,  sabering  one  and  capturing  some  mules  and 
small  arms.  Had  one  man  wounded.  Returned  to  the  command 
at  New  Hope  Church.  Laid  in  line  of  battle  until  next  morning 
at  9  a.  m.  August  29  moved  out  on  Jonesborough  road,  barricaded 
and  returned  to  New  Hope  Church  and  camped  for  the  night. 
August  30  advanced  on  the  Jonesborough  road,  encountered 
enemy's  pickets,  skirmished  with  them  all  day,  driving  them 
across  Flint  river.  August  31  moved  down  Flint  river,  crossed 
the  bridge  within  one  mile  of  Jonesborough  and  barricaded,  being 
in  right  center  of  the  division.  Were  attacked  by  infantry  and 
compelled  to  fall  back  and  recross  the  river,  with  one  man  mor 
tally  wounded,  since  died;  three  severely  wounded,  four  missing. 
One  hundred  picked  men  under  Captain  Qualman,  Company  K, 
and  Captain  Young,  Company  H,  were  sent  to  cut  the  railroad, 
which  was  accomplished  four  miles  south  of  Jonesborough.  Re 
turned  and  went  into  camp.  September  1  moved  out  and  barri 
caded  on  Fayetteville  road.  September  2  moved  to  Fayetteville 
and  Griffin  road.  September  3  crossed  Flint  river  and  barricaded 
on  extreme  right  of  our  army.  September  4  remained  in  barri 
cades.  September  5  moved  to  Fitzgeralds.  September  6  formed 
rear  guard  of  Fifteenth,  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Army  Corps. 
Went  into  camp  at  Flint  river.  September  7  picketed  on  left 
flank  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee.  September  8  returned  to 


118  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

near  Mount  Gillead  Church  and  went  into  camp.     Casualties,  one 
mortally  wounded,  since  died,  six  severely  wounded,  four  missing. 

"Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"ALFRED  GADDIS, 
"Major  Commanding." 

It  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  capture  of  the  train  at  Bear 
Creek  Station,  referred  to  in  Lieutenant- Colonel  Klein's  report, 
that  it  was  first  sighted  by  Samuel  N".  Hamilton  and  James  Jef 
fries,  two  young  boys  of  Company  L,  who,  without  taking  into 
consideration  the  serious  danger  and  nature  of  their  undertaking, 
dashed  up  and  leveled  their  carbines  upon  the  engineer  and  con 
ductor,  demanding  their  surrender,  which  they  promptly  did. 
These  two  youngsters  had  the  entire  train  on  their  hands,  without 
knowing  what  to  do  with  it,  until  their  command  came  up  some 
minutes'  later  and  took  charge  of  and  sidetracked  and  burned  it, 
as  recited  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Klein.  Young  Hamilton,  who  is 
now  a  staid  and  leading  physician  at  Connersville,  Ind.,  was  a 
good  deal  of  a  dare  devil  all  through  his  service  in  the  army.  He 
was  with  Company  M  at  the  surrender  of  John  Morgan,  near 
Salineville,  Ohio,  on  his  famous  raid,  and  later  in  East  Tennessee, 
while  an  orderly  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Twenty-third  Corps, 
carried  a  dispatch  a  long  distance  through  the  enemy's  country 
to  General  Manson,  countermanding  an  order  for  General  Manson 
to  move  on  Bristol,  Tenn.  For  his  daring  conduct  he  received  the 
personal  thanks  of  General  Manson.  Dr.  Hamilton  served  three 
years  and  was  not  twenty  years  old  when  discharged. 

After  he  was  relieved  from  command  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley 
and  joined  the  army  in  the  West,  Gen.  J.  H.  Wilson1,  who  had  so 
long  had  the  Eastern  battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry 
under  him  as  a  part  of  his  command,  finding  a  number  of  men  of 
the  Western  battalion  with  the  Western  army,  whose  term  of 
service  had  not  expired,  made  an  effort  to  have  the  two  wings  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  119 

the  regiment  consolidated,  and  in  pursuance  of  that  purpose  wrote 
to  the  Secretary  of  War  as  follows: 
"Hon.  E.  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War : 

"Sir — I  have  the  honor  to  recommend  and  request  that  steps 
may  be  taken  to  secure  the  reorganization  of  the  Third  Regiment 
of  Indiana  Cavalry.  There  are  two  companies  of  veterans  orig 
inally  belonging  to  that  regiment  now  serving  with  the  Third 
Cavalry  Division  under  General  Sheridan,  and  six  companies 
with  General  Kilpatrick  in  Georgia.  Of  the  latter  I  am  un 
officially  informed  enough  men  have  re-enlisted  to  make  two  good 
companies.  I  would  respectfully  request  that  the  two  companies 
in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  and  those  with  Kilpatrick  be  ordered  to 
Indiana,  and  authority  be  given  to  Maj.  Samuel  Mclrvin,  Major 
Patton  and  Captain  Lee  to  reorganize  the  regiment  and  bring  it 
into  the  field.  Major  Mclrvin  has  served  three  years  with  great 
distinction  (having  entered  the  service  from  Indiana)  in  the  Sec 
ond  New  York,  and  was  mustered  out  as  major  of  that  regiment. 
Major  Patton  served  three  years  with  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry, 
is  a  brave  and  zealous  officer  and  soldier.  Captain  Lee  now  com 
mands  the  veteran  squadron  of  the  regiment  and  is  a  young  officer 
of  great  promise.  This  request  is  made  with  a  view  of  retaining 
in  the  army  one  of  the  best  regiments  of  cavalry  that  has  taken 
part  in  the  war,  and  with  the  belief  that  its  fame  will  render  its 
reorganization  an  easy  matter  for  the  Governor  of  Indiana  and 
the  War  Department.  If  conscripts  or  volunteers  from  Indiana 
are  to  be  given  to  cavalry  regiments  in  the  field,  a  sufficient  num 
ber  might  be  assigned  to  the  Third  Indiana  to  allow  it  to  retain 
its  regimental  organization  complete,  without  the  necessity  of 
sending  them  home. 

"I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"J.  H.  WILSON, 
"Brevet  Major-General  Commanding," 

(Vol.  XXXIX,  Part  3,  page  758.) 


120  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

This  urgent  and  complimentary  recommendation  of  General 
Wilson,  as  we  know,  was  never  acted  upon,  but  the  men  of  the 
Western  battalion  whose  term  of  service  had  not  expired  when 
the  main  body  was  discharged  were  retained  in  the  service.  Byron 
Dawson,  who  had  been  commissioned  second  lieutenant  of  Com 
pany  L  on  the  1st  of  September,  1864,  was  assigned  to  duty  on 
the  staff  of  Col.  Smith  D.  Atkins,  of  the  Ninety-second  Illinois 
Mounted  Infantry,  who  commanded  the  brigade  to  which  the 
Third  Indiana  belonged. 

There  are  records  to  the  effect  that  the  remnant  of  the  Third 
Indiana  in  the  West  were  consolidated  with  the  Eighth  Indiana 
Cavalry,  but  that  record  is  repudiated  by  Captain  Patton,  of  Com 
pany  M.  The  captain  says:  "Just  before  the  march  to  the  sea 
Company  L  was  disbanded  and  used  with  the  wagon  trains,  either 
to  drive  teams  or  as  train  guards.  They  were  never  back  with  our 
command  during  the  war.  I  was  ordered  with  Company  M,  and 
the  recruits  left  from  other  companies,  to  report  to  the  Ninety- 
second  Illinois  for  duty,  and  did  so,  and  was  with  that  regiment 
from  Marietta  to  Savannah,  Ga.,  but  we  were  not  consolidated 
with  any  regiment.  I  received  my  orders  from  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Van  Buskirk,  commanding  the  Ninety-second  Illinois  Mounted 
Infantry,  as  a  captain  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  and  reported 
to  him  as  such.  After  the  fall  of  Atlanta  our  division  was  en 
gaged  in  fighting  Hood  while  making  his  flank  movement.  The 
division  was  in  many  fights  and  skirmishes  while  on  that  cam 
paign. 

"At  one  time  our  company  was  ordered  to  take  a  bridge  a  short 
distance  ahead  of  us,  our  company  being  in  advance.  We  charged 
and  took  it,  crossed  over  and  found  the  enemy  in  force  in  earth 
works.  We  were  soon  reinforced  by  the  division.  In  that  fight 
Frank  Caux,  William  Moore  and  two  or  three  others  of  my  com 
pany  were  severely  wounded.  After  that  fight  our  division  re 
turned  to  Marietta  for  a  short  rest  and  to  prepare  for  the  march 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  121 

to  the  sea.  All  the  recruits  of  other  companies,  except  Company 
L,  were  left  with  Company  M  and  made  quite  a  battalion.  I  took 
charge  of  headquarters  of  the  Third  Indiana  and  Comrade  Adams 
was  acting  adjutant.  We  marched  quietly  along  for  several  days 
and  then  came  in  front  of  Macon,  where  General  Kilpatrick's 
division  engaged  the  enemy  and  drove  them  into  the  city.  From 
there  we  went  into  the  interior  of  Georgia  to  tear  up  the  Augusta 
&  Savannah  railway,  and  were  engaged  in  the  hottest  kind  of  a 
fight  on  this  raid  with  Wheeler's  and  Hampton's  cavalry,  which 
had  consolidated.  They  fought  us  on  our  flanks  and  rear,  and 
made  it  impossible  for  us  to  stop  day  or  night.  Kilpatrick  halted, 
built  barricades,  and  when  the  enemy  came  up  made  an  onslaught 
they  could  not  stand,  and  they  fell  back.  We  mounted  and  moved 
forward,  but  the  enemy  was  soon  on  us  again,  and  then  Kilpatrick, 
in  three  columns,  gave  them  the  prettiest  cavalry  fight  the  world 
has  ever  seen.  After  that  we  moved  along  without  further  trouble 
from  the  enemy  for  several  days.  Then  we  resumed  our  march 
to  Savannah,  and  were  fighting  and  skirmishing  with  Wheeler 
every  day  until  we  reached  the  Ogechee  river.  From  there  we 
went  down  to  the  coast,  and  were  the  first  to  signal  the  transports 
which  opened  up  communication  with  the  government." 

While  Lieutenant-Colonel  Van  Buskirk  makes  no  special  men 
tion  of  the  services  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  on  this  march 
to  the  sea,  yet  we  find  on  page  395,  Vol.  XLIV,  of  the  official 
records  that  the  detachment  under  command  of  Captain  Patton 
is  credited  with  the  capture  of  nine  horses,  three  mules,  five  stands 
of  small  arms,  the  destruction  of  eleven  cotton  gins  and  one  saw 
mill,  and  with  the  loss  of  twelve  horses  and  three  mules  aban 
doned.  The  report  is  as  follows : 

"Headquarters  Ninety-second  Illinois  Mounted  Infantry, 

"Near  Savannah,  Ga.,  December  20,  1864. 

" Captain — I  have  the  honor  to  make  the  following  report  of  the 
part  which  my  regiment  took  during  the  campaign  from  Atlanta, 


122  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY, 

Ga.,   through  the  center  of  the   State,  to   a  point  near   Savan 
nah,  Ga. : 

"We  left  Atlanta,  Ga.,  on  the  15th  of  November,  1864,  but 
have  nothing  of  record  more  than  the  usual  duties  of  picketing 
and  scouting  until  the  20th  instant,  when  near  Macon,  Ga.,  we 
encountered  the  enemy,  my  regiment  acting  as  advance  guard  of 
the  division.  We  drove  them  before  us,  charging  them  from  be 
hind  several  strong  barricades,  killing  and  wounding  several  and 
taking  a  few  prisoners.  When  near  Walnut  creek  Company  H, 
Captain  John  F.  Nelson  commanding,  was  detached  and  ordered 
to  proceed  to  the  railroad  between  Macon  and  Griswoldville,  for 
the  purpose  of  tearing  up  the  track  and  cutting  the  telegraph,  all 
of  which  was  successfully  accomplished. 

"After  driving  the  enemy  across  Walnut  creek  my  regiment 
was  dismounted.  One  squadron,  Captain  Hawk  commanding,  on 
the  right  and  one  squadron,  Captain  Becker  commanding,  on  the 
left,  were  ordered  to  cross  the  creek  to  support  the  Tenth  Ohio 
Cavalry  in  a  saber  charge.  The  enemy  were  driven  into  their  for 
tifications.  The  object  for  which  the  charge  was  made  having 
been  accomplished,  we  were  ordered  to  withdraw  and  recross  the 
creek,  where  we  remained,  holding  the  enemy  in  check  until  after 
dark.  Our  casualties  were  two  men  wounded.  After  dark  the 
whole  command  withdrew,  my  men  acting  as  rear  guard.  We 
were  stationed  on  picket  duty  during  the  night. 

"On  the  morning  of  the  21st  instant,  my  regiment  being  still 
on  picket,  the  enemy  attacked  the  outposts  at  daylight.  Skirmish 
ing  continued  until  about  6  a.  m.,  when  they  charged  the  outposts 
in  front  and  on  the  flanks  with  not  less  than  a  brigade,  driving 
them  back  on  the  reserve.  Still  on  they  came  in  their  furious 
charge  until  within  easy  range  of  our  guns,  when  we  opened  on 
them  a  fire  that  sent  them  flying  backward  in  great  confusion, 
leaving  their  killed  and  wounded  upon  the  field.  The  punish 
ment  inflicted  being  so  severe,  they  did  not  trouble  us  again.  A 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  123 

prisoner,  since  captured,  reports  their  loss  to  have  been  sixty-five 
men  killed  and  wounded.  Our  loss  was  two  captured.  From  the 
21st  to  the  26th  instant  nothing  worthy  of  record  occurred,  save 
the  incidents  usual  on  a  march.  On  the  27th  instant  my  regiment 
was  detailed  as  rear  guard.  We  fought  the  enemy  all  day,  losing 
but  one  man  wounded.  In  our  action  with  Wheeler  on  the  28th 
instant  my  regiment  formed  the  right  center  of  the  brigade,  sup 
porting  a  battery.  The  enemy  charged  but  were  beautifully  re 
pulsed.  We  lost  one  man  wounded. 

"Our  usual  routine  of  marching  and  picketing  was  uninter 
rupted  until  December  2,  when  my  regiment  was  placed  on  picket 
on  the  railroad  at  Thomas  Station  to  protect  the  infantry  while 
tearing  up  the  track.  We  skirmished  with  the  enemy,  driving 
them  back  sufficiently  to  take  position.  Skirmishing  continued 
until  about  8  p.  m.  About  11  p.  m.  they  got  a  battery  in  position 
and  shelled  us.  Our  casualties  were  two  men  killed  and  one  man 
wounded.  At  daybreak  on  the  4th  instant  the  enemy  advanced 
their  skirmishers.  Skirmishing  continued  until  about  8  a.  m., 
when  the  division  came  up,  and  my  regiment  was  ordered  forward 
in  line,  dismounted.  We  soon  found  the  enemy  strongly  posted 
behind  barricades  in  greatly  superior  numbers.  WTe  at  once 
charged  them,  driving  them  from  their  successive  lines  of  barri 
cades,  routing  them  in  wildest  confusion ;  they  throwing  away  their 
arms  and  whatever  else  would  impede  their  flight,  many  seeking 
safety  behind  trees  and  under  houses,  leaving  their  killed  and 
wounded  in  our  hands.  My  regiment  captured  some  forty  pris 
oners,  among  whom  was  a  major  and  a  lieutenant.  We  lost  in 
this  action  three  men  killed  and  six  wounded. 

"Until  the  8th  instant  nothing  of  moment  occurred.  On  the 
8th  we  had  a  skirmish  with  the  enemy  without  casualty.  We  re 
mained  in  line  of  battle  nearly  all  night.  On  the  morning  of  the 
9th  we  crossed  Ebenezer  creek,  leaving  one  battalion  under  com 
mand  of  Captain  Becker  at  the  bridge  to  guard  the  prisoners, 


124  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

while  they  destroyed  the  bridge  and  blockaded  the  road.  While 
thus  employed  they  were  fired  upon  by  the  enemy's  sharpshooters, 
wounding  one  man.  From  the  10th  to  the  20th  instant  nothing 
worthy  of  report  occurred. 

"I  have  destroyed  during  the  campaign  twenty-nine  gin  houses 
and  gins,  containing  about  1,460  bales  of  cotton,  and  one  flouring 
mill  and  one  saw  mill.  We  captured  106  horses  and  ninety-four 
mules.  The  casualties  of  my  regiment  were  five  killed,  twelve 
wounded  and  twelve  missing,  making  a  total  of  twenty-nine  men. 

"The  conduct  of  both  my  officers  and  men  on  all  occasions  is 
worthy  of  the  highest  praise. 

"Respectfully  submitted, 

"MATHEW  VAN  BUSKIRK,  Lieutenant-Colonel, 
"Commanding  Ninety-Second  Illinois  Mounted  Infantry. 

"Capt  H.  J.  SMITH, 

"Acting  Assistant  Adjutant-General, 

"Second  Brigade,  Third  Cavalry  Division." 

Captain  Patton  continues  as  follows:  "After  the  fall  of 
Savannah  I  received  an  order  from  General  Kilpatrick,  com 
manding  the  cavalry  division  with  which  we  had  been  serving,  to 
take  my  command  and  report  to  Colonel  Jones  of  the  Eighth 
Indiana  Cavalry  for  duty.  This  order  I  obeyed,  and  did  duty 
with  that  regiment  through  the  Carolinas  until  after  our  time  was 
out.  We  crossed  the  Savannah  river  at  Sisters  Ferry,  marched 
several  days,  occasionally  skirmishing  with  the  enemy,  until  we 
reached  Black  river,  where  we  had  a  hot  fight  and  drove  the  enemy 
towards  Augusta,  on  to  their  reinforcements,  and  we  were  com 
pelled  to  build  a  barricade  of  rails  and  timber  in^an  open  field. 
Here  the  rebels  charged  us  time  and  again,  and  we  maintained 
that  post  two  days  and  two  nights,  and  the  attacking  force  moved 
off.  We  then  marched  towards  Fayetteville,  S.  C.,  on  Cape  Fear 
river,  and  the  rebels  were  marching  on  a  parallel  road  half  a  mile 
west  of  us  making  for  the  same  point.  This  march  was  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TlIIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  125 

night,  and  the  rebels  would  come  over  on  to  our  road  and  kill  our 
men  in  the  dark,  as  they  knew  the  country  better  than  we  did. 

"We  reached  Fayetteville  in  the  morning,  crossed  Cape  Fear 
River  and  went  into  camp.  On  an  order  from  General  Kil- 
patrick  I  reported  at  his  headquarters  the  next  morning  at  day 
break,  and  was  ordered  to  make  a  reconnoissance  from  his  head 
quarters  through  the  pine  openings.  We  had  not  gone  far  until 
we  found  the  enemy  and  drove  them  before  us,  but  soon  came  in 
contact  with  the  whole  rebel  army.  General  Kilpatrick  came  up 
with  the  division  and  this  was  the  opening  of  the  great  three  days7 
fight  at  Bentonville. 

"After  this  battle  we  were  encamped  quite  a  while  at  Milton, 
N.  C.,  and  while  there  Company  M  received  orders  from  the  War 
Department  on  the  15th  of  April,  1865,  to  be  mustered  out  of 


service." 


The  officers  of  Company  L  were  commissioned  on  the  23d  of 
October,  1862,  and  the  officers  of  Company  M  were  commissioned 
on  the  llth  of  December,  1862.  Both  companies  were  detained 
in  Indiana  until  September,  1863,  performing  various  kinds  of 
duty,  and  Company  M  took  part  in  the  Morgan  raid,  and  fought 
and  captured  a  body  of  twenty-two  of  the  raiders  at  ^N"ew  Provi 
dence,  Ind.,  for  which  they  were  publicly  thanked  by  General 
Wilcox,  commanding  the  department.  The  two  companies  went 
with  General  Wilcox  to  East  Tennessee  by  way  of  Cumberland 
Gap,  and  at  Marysville  for  the  first  time,  in  February,  1864,  be 
came  a  part  of  the  Western  battalion  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cav 
alry,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Klein. 

According  to  'the  report  of  Lieut. -Col.  Fielder  A.  Jones,  written 
on  the  27th  of  March,  1865,  from  the  headquarters  of  the  Eighth 
Indiana  Cavalry  (Vol.  XL VII,  Part  1,  page  870),  his  command 
left  Savannah,  Ga.,  on  the  morning  of  January  28,  1865,  the 
command  consisting  of  the  Eighth  Indiana  Cavalry  and  a  detach 
ment  of  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  which  latter  body  was  under  the 


126  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

command  of  Capt.  Charles  U.  Patton,  Company  M,  Third 
Indiana.  First  met  the  enemy  on  the  10th  of  February,  1865, 
at  Johnsons  Station,  driving  him  from  several  barricades  on  to 
his  main  force,  and  fought  him  until  recalled  by  order  of  Colonel 
Jordan,  commanding  brigade.  On  the  llth  of  February  the 
enemy  charged  the  Eighth  Indiana,  in  position  at  Johnsons  Sta 
tion,  and  were  repulsed  with  the  loss  of  the  adjutant  and  three 
men  of  the  Twelfth  Alabama  Cavalry  killed  and  several  others 
wounded.  In  his  report  Lieutenant-Colonel  Jones  says: 

"On  the  morning  of  March  16,  1865,  near  Averasborough, 
N".  C.,  I  was  ordered  into  position  to  cover  the  right  flank  of  an 
infantry  brigade,  and  to  move  with  it  against  the  enemy.  We  had 
hardly  left  our  camp  before  we  struck  the  enemy  in  line  and  in 
strong  force.  Finding  myself  near  his  flank,  I  charged  him  vig 
orously  and  routed  an  entire  brigade  of  South  Carolina  infantry. 
Had  our  infantry  been  pushed  it  is  my  firm  belief  that  we  would 
have  captured  the  enemy's  works,  artillery  and  many  prisoners 
without  firing  a  shot.  As  it  was,  the  cavalry  alone  took  several 
prisoners  and  drove  the  rebels  in  wildest  confusion  into  their 
works.  Had  there  been  solid  ground  I  should  have  taken  their 
works  with  cavalry,  but  the  rains  of  the  previous  night  had  made 
the  country  one  vast  mire,  which  checked  the  impetus  of  our  charge 
and  gave  the  enemy  time  to  reform  behind  their  works.  Finding 
further  operations  on  horseback  impossible,  I  dismounted  my  com 
mand  and  led  horses  to  the  rear.  The  enemy,  seriously  alarmed  for 
the  safety  of  his  left  flank,  commenced  rapidly  re-enforcing  that 
flank,  and  I  soon  found  I  was  fighting  several  times  my  number 
and  ordered  my  lines  to  reconnect  with  the  infantry.  The  enemy 
seeing  my  movement  and  judging  it  to  be  a  retreat,  charged  me 
in  great  force.  We  immediately  came  to  'about  face,'  gave  two 
or  three  volleys  from  our  Spencers  and  made  a  center  charge, 
causing  the  foe  to  quickly  seek  shelter  in  his  works. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  127 

"Although  fighting  many  times  our  number,  and  infantry,  too, 
and  our  lines  very  attenuated,  yet  it  seemed  that  every  officer  and 
man  of  my  command  felt  that  our  position  was  vital  to  the  safety 
of  the  infantry  on  our  left,  and  was  determined  to  hold  it  at  every 
hazard.  The  enemy  charged  us  repeatedly  in  great  force;  we 
always  met  his  charges  with  a  volley  and  a  counter-charge,  and 
whatever  were  the  odds  against  us  we  always  drove  them  back 
into  their  works.  I  can  safely  say  that  no  better  fighting  has  been 
done  in  this  war  than  was  done  that  day  by  this  command,  and  I 
am  satisfied  that  we  attracted  the  attention  of  the  enemy  and  so 
seriously  threatened  his  left  that  he  did  not  observe  the  movements 
of  the  force  which  was  turning  his  right  until  it  was  too  late  to 
oppose  it.  My  loss  was  heavy,  but  examination  of  the  field  shows 
that  the  enemy  suffered  far  heavier  than  we  did.  My  command 
operated  with  the  brigade  on  the  right  flank  of  Johnston's  army 
at  Bentonville,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  20th  of  March  Captain 
Crowell  passed  around  the  right  flank  of  the  enemy  and  got,  in 
fact,  in  rear  of  his  artillery,  but  his  force  was  so  small  he  could 
not  take  advantage  of  his  discovery. 

"My  thanks  are  due  to  Major  Herring  for  efficient  aid  rendered 
both  in  action  and  on  the  march.  Captains  Crowell,  Leavell  and 
Mitchell,  commanding  battalions  of  the  Eighth  Indiana,  have 
proved  themselves  competent  for  that  command.  They  are  fine 
soldiers  and  in  connection  with  Major  Herring  and  Captain  Pat- 
ton,  commanding  Third  Indiana,  are  commended  for  promotion. 

aWe  lost  one  officer  and  twelve  men  killed,  seven  officers  and 
fifty-five  men  wounded,  and  twenty  enlisted  men  missing;  we  lost 
twenty-five  horses  killed  and  twenty-six  wounded  in  action  on 
March  16.  Very  respectfully, 

"F.  A.  JONES, 
"Lieutenant-Colonel  Commanding. " 


CHAPTEK  V. 

The  winter  of  1863-4  was  a  period  of  thrilling  interest  in  the 
history  of  the  American  Union.  In  the  East  and  in  the  West  great 
armies  had  contended  for  the  mastery  on  many  bloody  battlefields, 
but  in  the  minds  of  thoughtful  persons  there  was  little  in  the  out 
come  of  these  conflicts  which  foretold  final  results.  Grim  deter 
mination  characterized  the  people  on  both  sides  of  the  struggle  and 
their  armies  in  the  field.  The  South  entertained  no  thought  of 
surrender  and  the  North  no  thought  of  giving  up  the  contest  until 
every  seceding  state  was  restored  to  the  Union  and  rebellion 
crushed  out.  Our  armies  in  the  East  and  in  the  West  had  been 
led  by  different  commanders  with  varying  results.  We  generally 
claimed  victories  whether  we  had  won  them  or  not.  When  the 
peninsular  campaign  began  in  the  spring  of  1862  on  James  river 
and  the  Chickahominy  it  developed  into  our  bloody  defeat  at 
Second  Bull  Run,  and  ended  for  the  year  at  Antietam  in  northern 
Maryland,  near  the  southern  border  of  Pennsylvania.  The  cam 
paign  of  1863  began  at  Fredricksburg,  Va.,  under  Burnsides, 
was  continued  at  Chancellorsville  under  Hooker,  and  practically 
closed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  under  Meade,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  north  of  where  it  had  begun  and  on  Northern  soil.  When 
the  enemy  retired  in  good  order  from  this  last  great  battle  and 
was  ready  to  renew  the  conflict  on  its  own  soil  in  Virginia — re 
gardless  of  what  might  be  claimed  by  those  immediately  concerned 
—to  those  looking  on  from  afar  the  outcome  certainly  appeared 

uncertain. 

Less  than  six  months  after  Shiloh  had  been  fought  in  the  far 
South,  Bragg  with  a  great  confederate  army  was  thundering  at 
the  gates  of  Louisville  on  the  Ohio  river,  and  Cincinnati  was 

128 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  129 

threatened  by  Kirby  Smith.  Stone  River,  Chickamauga  and 
Missionary  Ridge,  and  the  siege  of  Knoxville,  settled  merely  the 
fact  that  the  soldiers  of  both  sides  could  be  depended  upon  to  do 
all  the  fighting  that  was  necessary,  and  the  leadership  of  the  enemy 
seems  to  have  flashed  the  fact  upon  the  executive  mind  at  Wash 
ington  that  the  time  had  come  for  us  to  imitate  the  enemy  some 
what  in  the  matter  of  leadership. 

With  this  point  reached,  General  Grant's  selection  as  leader  of 
all  our  armies  was  but  the  natural  thing  to  do.  He,  of  all  our 
commanders,  had  been  uniformly  successful  in  his  campaigns,  and 
he  had  Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh,  Vicksburg  and  Missionary  Ridge 
to  his  credit.  The  country  approved  the  choice,  confidence  was 
revived,  and  at  once  the  work  of  organizing  for  the  great  campaign 
of  1864  was  entered  upon.  The  armies  of  the  Cumberland  and 
Tennessee  were  consolidated  under  General  Sherman.  The  Army 
of  the  Potomac  was  taken  in  charge  by  the  commander-in-chief 
with  General  Meade,  who  had  fought  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  as 
his  first  subordinate.  From  December  until  May  the  time  was 
occupied  in  strengthening  and  equipping  the  armies  that  were  to 
be  thrown  against  the  enemy.  Old  and  depleted  regiments  were 
recruited  up  to  their  maximum  number  of  men,  and  vast  thousands 
of  men  who  had  been  absent  from  their  commands  on  various 
kinds  of  detailed  duty  were  relieved  from  such  duty  and  ordered 
to  rejoin  the  organizations  to  which  they  belonged.  Regiments 
that  had  been  occupying  fortifications  for  almost  three  years  with 
out  ever  seeing  an  enemy  were  ordered  to  the  field,  and  their  places 
supplied  by  new  organizations  recruited  for  a  hundred  days  in 
the  various  states  of  the  North.  When  the  1st  of  May  rolled  round 
and  the  roads  had  become  passable  our  armies  in  the  East  and  in 
the  West  were  ready  and  equipped  for  war  as  they  had  never  been 
ready  and  equipped  before.  And  on  the  1st  of  May,  1864,  began 
the  two  campaigns  which  the  commander-in-chief  had  planned, 
viz.,  the  campaign  of  the  Wilderness,  which  began  with  the 


130  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

crossing  of  the  Rapidan,  and  that  of  Atlanta,  which  began  at 
Kenesaw  Mountains,  and  in  which  Sherman  fought  the  battles  of 
Rough  and  Ready,  Rock  Face  Ridge,  New  Hope  Church,  Dallas, 
Peachtree  Creek,  Atlanta  and  Jonesborough. 

In  this  Wilderness  campaign  the  Eastern  battalion  of  the 
Third  Indiana  Cavalry  bore  a  part.  The  battalion  remained  in 
the  vicinity  of  Culpepper  Court  House  during  the  winter  of  1863, 
engaged  in  performing  picket  and  outpost  duty  and  taking  part 
in  several  reconnoissances.  On  the  27th  of  February,  1864,  it 
was  detailed  to  go  with  General  Kilpatrick's  raid  on  Richmond, 
and  did  not  rejoin  the  army  until  the  15th  of  March. 

While  the  Eastern  battalion  lay  in  camp  at  Culpepper  during 
the  winter  of  1864  it  did  more  than  picket  duty.  On  the  26th  of 
January,  1864,  a  squad  of  eighteen  men  were  sent  out  towards 
the  Rapidan  on  a  scout,  and  were  attacked  by  a  squadron  of  rebel 
cavalry  and  sixteen  of  the  eighteen  captured.  (Vol.  XXXVIII, 
page  432.)  On  the  30th  of  January,  1864,  Colonel  Chapman, 
then  commanding  the  brigade,  with  one  hundred  men  of  the  Third 
Indiana  under  Major  Patton,  and  one  hundred  of  the  Eighth 
New  York  under  Captain  Moore,  crossed  the  Rapidan  at  Clarks 
Ford  and  pushed  rapidly  towards  Madison  Court  House.  At 
Mount  Zion  Church  his  command  came  upon  the  enemy  in  con 
siderable  force,  but  they  retreated  before  Colonel  Chapman  could 
attack  towards  Madison  Court  House,  to  which  point  he  pro 
ceeded,  but  found  no  enemy  except  a  few  scattering  men.  He  sent 
a  detachment  of  his  command  to  Humes  Ford,  where  five  of  the 
enemy's  pickets  and  five  horses  were  captured,  and  one  man  and 
one  horse  killed.  From  Madison  Court  House  he  went  to  Mount 
Carmel  Church  and  returned  to  camp,  crossing  Robertsons  river 
by  way  of  Bethel  Church  and  Whites  Shop  after  a  march  of  fifty 
miles.  (Vol.  XXXIII,  page  170.) 

While  the  army  lay  in  camp  around  Culpepper,  Va.,  in  Feb 
ruary,  1864,  Gen.  Judson  Kilpatrick,  commanding  the  Third 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  131 

Division  of  the  Cavalry  Corps,  submitted  to  General  Pleasanton, 
commander  of  the  corps,  the  project  for  a  raid  on  Richmond,  the 
capital  of  the  Confederacy,  the  force  to  consist  of  4,000  cavalry 
and  six  guns,  with  five  days'  rations.  He  mapped  out  his  line  of 
march  in  detail  (Vol.  XXXIII,  page  172).  Replying  to  a  re 
quest  from  the  headquarters  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  for  his 
views  of  the  scheme,  General  Pleasanton  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that 
the  plan  was  not  feasible  at  that  time,  and  gave  his  reasons  there 
for  (Vol.  XXXIII,  page  171).  Notwithstanding  General  Pleas- 
anton's  disapproval,  the  commanding  general  of  the  army  directed 
General  Pleasanton  to  re-enforce  General  Kilpatrick's  command 
so  that  he  would  have  available  4,000  officers  and  men,  and  a  bat 
tery  of  light  artillery.  This  order,  dated  February  27,  1864,  read: 

"With  this  force  you  will  move  with  the  utmost  expedition  pos 
sible  on  the  shortest  route  past  the  enemy's  right  flank  to  Rich 
mond,  and  by  this  rapid  march  endeavor  to  effect  an  entrance  into 
the  city  and  liberate  our  prisoners  now  held  there  and  in  that 
immediate  vicinity."  The  order  closed  with  this  language: 

"I  am  directed  by  the  major-general  commanding  to  say  that 
no  detailed  instructions  are  given  you  since  the  plan  of  operations 
has  been  proposed  by  yourself,  with  the  sanction  of  the  President 
and  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  has  been  so  far  adopted  by  him  that 
he  considers  success  possible  with  secrecy,  good  management  and 
the  utmost  expedition. 

"Z.  A.  HUMPHREYS, 

(Page  173.)  "Major-General,  Chief  of  Staff." 

Among  the  forces  outside  of  his  own  command,  General  Kil- 
patrick  requested  that  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  accompany  him, 
and  under  Major  Patton  it  was  ordered  to  do  so.  On  this  raid 
the  battalion  performed  most  arduous  and  dangerous  service.  We 
give  General  Kilpatrick's  report  of  that  remarkable  expedition. 
At  page  183,  Vol.  XXXIII,  General  Kilpatrick  says: 


132  HISTORY  OF  THE  TRIED  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

"In  accordance  with  the  above  instructions  I  left  my  camp  at 
Stevensburg  at  7  o'clock  Sunday  evening,  February  28,  with  2,375 
men  and  Captain  Ransom's  battery,  U.  S.  Horse  Artillery  (six 
pieces),  and  detachments  from  the  First  and  Second  Cavalry 
Divisions,  under  Majors  Hall  and  Taylor,  in  all  3,582  strong. 

"My  advance,  consisting  of  460  men  under  Colonel  Dahlgren, 
reached  Elys  Ford  at  11  p.  m.,  crossed,  surprised  and  captured  the 
enemy's  pickets,  consisting  of  two  officers  and  fourteen  men. 
Colonel  Dahlgren  was  then  ordered  to  move  rapidly  forward  by 
way  of  Spotsylvania  Court  House  to  Fredrick  Hall,  on  the  Vir 
ginia  Central  railroad,  and  thence  to  a  point  above  Goochland  on 
the  James  river,  cross  the  river,  move  down  the  opposite  bank,  and 
if  possible  be  in  position  to  seize  the  main  bridge  that  led  to  the 
city  of  Richmond  at  10  o'clock  Tuesday,  March  1.  A  small  force 
under  Captain  Boice,  Fifth  New  York  Cavalry,  was  sent  to  de 
stroy  the  Fredricksburg  railroad  below  Guineys  Station,  the  tele 
graph  having  been  destroyed  on  both  roads  by  scouts  during  the 
night.  I  pressed  rapidly  forward  with  the  main  column,  passed 
Spotsylvania  Court  House  at  daylight,  reached  and  destroyed 
Beaver  Dam  Station  at  1  p.  m.,  and  after  destroying  the  road  to  a 
considerable  extent  moved  rapidly  forward  in  the  direction  of 
Richmond,  and  went  into  camp  early  in  the  evening  nine  miles 
from  Ground  Squirrel  Bridge,  over  the  South  Anna. 

"I  moved  at  1  a.  m.  Tuesday,  intending  to  cross  the  South 
Anna  at  Ground  Squirrel  Bridge,  move  down  the  Ridge  road  and 
attack  Richmond  west  of  the  Brook  pike.  My  guide  (I  think 
through  ignorance)  instead  of  directing  the  column  to  the  bridge 
mentioned  led  it  in  the  direction  of  Ashland,  where  we  came  upon 
the  infantry  pickets  of  the  enemy.  From  prisoners  I  learned  that 
a  force  of  2,000  infantry  and  six  pieces  of  artillery  was  stationed 
near  the  railroad  bridge  above  Ashland.  I  directed  Major  Hall 
with  450  men  of  the  First  Division  to  drive  in  the  enemy's  pickets 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  133 

and  make  a  determined  attack  in  order  to  cover  the  movements  of 
the  main  column. 

"I  struck  across  the  country  to  the  South  Anna  and  crossed  at  a 
point  three  miles  above  Ashland  at  daylight  Tuesday  morning. 
The  attack  of  Major  Hall  totally  deceived  the  enemy  as  to  the 
movements  of  the  main  column,  which  passed  on,  crossed  the  rail 
road  seven  miles  below  Ashland,  tore  up  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  track,  destroyed  a  culvert,  passed  on  and  reached  the  Brook 
pike  at  a  point  five  miles  from  Richmond  at  10  a.  m.  The  enemy's 
artillery  engaged  with  Major  Hall  could  be  distinctly  heard  in 
my  rear.  Rightly  supposing  the  enemy  would  send  all  his  avail 
able  force  in  the  immediate  vicinity  in  the  direction  of  the  firing, 
in  order  to  protect  the  bridge  at  that  point,  and  learning  from 
citizens  and  negroes  who  came  from  Richmond  that  morning  that 
no  attack  was  expected  upon  the  city,  and  that  only  a  small  force 
occupied  the  works  in  front  of  the  Brook  pike,  I  moved  forward, 
crossed  the  brook,  surprised  and  captured  the  picket  and  a  small 
force  of  infantry  in  the  rifle  pits  beyond.  The  enemy  now  sent 
forward  troops  to  oppose  my  further  progress,  but  they  were  easily 
driven  back  until  a  point  was  reached  about  one  mile  from  the 
city.  Here  a  considerable  force  of  infantry  with  artillery  effectu 
ally  checked  my  advance.  It  was  now  1  p.  m.  I  ordered  up  my 
entire  force,  and  after  thoroughly  examining  the  enemy's  position 
determined  to  attack,  believing  if  they  were  citizen  soldiers  I 
could  enter  the  city.  Brigadier-General  Davies  had  the  advance. 
The  Fifth  New  York  Cavalry  was  dismounted  and  sent  forward 
as  skirmishers,  and  500  men  under  Major  Patton  in  a  body  dis 
mounted  followed  closely  in  the  rear  of  the  skirmishers  to  attack 
and  carry,  if  possible,  a  small  earthwork  on  the  left  of  and  a 
barricade  that  the  enemy  were  then  placing  in  the  road.  The 
enemy  was  finally  forced  back  until  a  position  was  gained  for  the 
use  of  my  artillery,  which  was  brought  up  and  opened  on  the 
enemy,  now  occupying  a  position  just  outside  the  city. 


134  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

"I  brought  up  re-enforcements,  strengthened  and  extended  my 
line  of  skirmishers  to  the  right  as  far  as  the  plank  road,  and  was 
about  to  order  an  advance  of  the  whole  line,  when  I  discovered  that 
the  enemy  was  rapidly  receiving  re-enforcements,  not  only  of  in 
fantry  but  artillery.  Feeling  confident  that  Dahlgren  had  failed 
to  cross  the  river,  and  that  an  attempt  to  enter  the  city  at  that 
point  would  but  end  in  bloody  failure,  I  reluctantly  withdrew  my 
command  at  dark,  crossed  the  Meadow  Bridge  over  the  Chicka- 
hominy,  and,  after  destroying  bridges  on  the  Virginia  Central 
railroad,  went  into  camp  near  Mechanicsville.  Colonel  Dahlgren, 
having  failed  to  cross  the  James  river,  moved  rapidly  down  the 
canal,  destroying  locks  and  viaducts,  and  engaged  the  enemy  at 
4  o'clock  on  the  plank  road  a  few  miles  from  Richmond,  and  at 
dark,  when  I  withdrew  my  command,  had  driven  the  enemy  near 
to  the  city. 

"In  the  various  attacks  upon  the  city,  which  commenced  at 
12  m.  and  continued  until  dark,  we  lost  upward  of  sixty  men  in 
killed  and  wounded  and  we  took  upwards  of  200  prisoners.  By 
scouts  and  spies  I  ascertained  that  the  entire  available  force  of  the 
enemy  in  and  about  the  city  had  been  concentrated  during  the  day 
upon  the  Brook  pike  and  plank  road  where  the  various  attacks  had 
been  made,  and  that  no  force  was  on  the  road  from  Mechanics 
ville  to  the  city.  It  was  now  10  p.  m.  I  at  once  determined  to 
make  another  attempt  to  enter  the  city.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Pres 
ton  of  the  First  Vermont  and  Major  Taylor  of  the  First  Maine 
were  ordered  to  lead  two  separate  detachments  of  500  men  in  on 
the  road  from  Mechanicsville,  while  with  the  artillery  and  the  re 
maining  portion  of  my  command  I  would  hold  the  bridge  over  the 
Chickahominy  and  cover  their  retreat  with  the  prisoners  if  suc 
cessful. 

"These  two  determined  daring  officers  had  but  just  commenced 
to  move  when  Colonel  Sawyer,  commanding  the  Second  Brigade, 
reported  that  his  pickets  had  been  driven  in  on  the  road  from  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  135 

direction  of  Hanover  Court  House.  A  few  moments  later  he  sent 
me  word  that  the  enemy  was  advancing  in  force  and  rapidly 
driving  his  people.  I  sent  him  orders  to  throw  out  a  strong  line 
of  skirmishers,  and  if  possible  charge  the  enemy  and  drive  him 
back,  as  I  intended  to  make  this  last  effort  to  release  our  prisoners. 
Heavy  musketry  and  carbine  firing  could  now  be  heard,  and  a 
moment  later  the  enemy  opened  with  a  battery  of  artillery.  I  was 
forced  to  recall  my  troops  to  resist  this  attack,  which  now  became 
serious.  The  enemy  charged  and  drove  back  the  Seventh  Michi 
gan,  and  considerable  confusion  ensued.  The  night  was  intensely 
dark,  cold  and  stormy.  The  command  moved  out  on  the  road 
toward  Old  Church  and  was  placed  in  position,  and  after  con 
siderable  hard  fighting,  with  a  loss  of  two  officers  and  upwards  of 
fifty  men  and  100  horses,  repulsed  the  enemy  and  forced  him  back 
on  the  road  towards  Hanover  Court  House. 

"Not  knowing  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  I  abandoned  all  fur 
ther  ideas  of  releasing  our  prisoners,  and  at  1  a.  m.  moved  to  the 
intersection  of  the  roads  from  Mechanicsville  to  Old  Church  and 
from  Hanover  Court  House  to  Bottom  Bridge.  Here  we  went  into 
camp.  At  daylight  the  enemy  attacked  my  pickets,  but  were  easily 
repulsed.  At  8  a.  m.  the  command  moved  to  Old  Church,  twelve 
miles  from  Hanover  Court  House,  and  here  took  up  a  good  posi 
tion  and  remained  until  1  p.  m.  Wednesday,  hoping  that  Dahlgren 
might  come  in.  The  enemy  charged  my  rear  guard  at  this  point, 
but  were  gallantly  charged  in  return  by  the  First  Maine  and 
driven  back  a  considerable  distance  with  the  loss  of  many  pris 
oners.  This  is  the  last  I  saw  of  the  enemy. " 

In  this  report  General  Kilpatrick  speaks  of  Major  Patton  fol 
lowing  the  skirmishers  with  500  dismounted  men  and  driving  the 
enemy  back  to  a  position  just  outside  the  city.  His  report  does 
not  disclose  who  these  men  were,  but  the  report  of  General  Davies, 
who  had  charge  of  this  movement  (page  192),  makes  it  known 
that  it  was  Major  Patton  with  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  and 


136  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

other  troops  that  had  been  furnished  him,  who  was  there  leading 
this  last  desperate  effort  to  enter  the  city  of  Richmond  and  liberate 
our  prisoners.  The  loss  by  this  raid  was  nine  officers,  331  men 
and  583  horses,  with  arms  and  equipments.  From  this  point  the 
command  went  into  General  Butler's  lines  at  New  Kent  Court 
House  on  Wednesday  evening.  The  men  and  their  horses  were 
embarked  on  transports  at  Yorktown,  shipped  to  Alexandria, 
whence  they  marched  to  their  camps  at  Stevensburg  and  Culpep- 
per,  reaching  there  on  the  14th  of  March. 

With  the  detachment  of  450  men  under  Major  Hall,  referred  to 
in  General  Kilpatrick's  report,  was  a  detail  of  ten  men  from  the 
Third  Indiana  Cavalry  under  Lieut.  George  Rogers  of  Company 
D  of  that  regiment.  This  detail  was  divided,  five  of  the  men  being 
with  the  advance  and  five  with  the  rear  of  Major  Hall's  forces. 
One  of  these  men,  John  W.  Palmer  of  Company  D,  is  still  living, 
and  has  a  vivid  remembrance  of  that  night's  work  under  Major 
Hall,  which  of  course  was  not  under  the  immediate  eye  of  General 
Kilpatrick.  He  says: 

"I  was  with  that  part  of  the  Third  Indiana  which  formed  the 
advance  guard  of  Major  Hall's  command,  and  it  was  midnight 
when  we  started,  the  object  of  the  expedition  being  to  burn  the 
bridge  across  the  South  Anna  river.  We  soon  encountered  the 
rebel  pickets  and  killed  one  of  them  in  the  first  encounter;  we 
moved  forward,  driving  them  before  us  until  we  ran  into  an  am 
buscade  across  the  road,  made  of  brush  and  rails,  and  behind  it 
were  dismounted  rebel  cavalry.  They  fired  on  us  and  killed  one 
of  the  Third  Indiana.  We  pushed  on  to  them  and  drove  them 
from  their  ambush  and  continued  to  follow  them  until  we  came 
in  sight  of  a  rebel  camp  in  the  valley  between  us  and  the  bridge, 
where  there  was  a  large  force  of  cavalry,  infantry  and  artillery, 
with  their  artillery  posted  to  command  the  road  upon  which  we 
were  approaching. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  137 

"They  at  once  opened  on  us  with  this  artillery  and  the  column 
about-faced  as  rapidly  as  possible,  although  this  movement  was 
delayed  somewhat  by  the  turning  around  of  our  ambulances  in 
the  narrow  road.  The  advance  became  the  rear  guard  of  this 
retrograde  movement,  and  200  rebel  cavalry  were  soon  pushing 
on  to  our  rear,  which  was  now  a  retreat  on  the  road  we  had  come, 
in  order  to  gain  a  ford  on  the  South  Anna,  where  we  could  cross 
and  rejoin  General  Kilpatrick's  command. 

"Lieutenant  Rogers  with  two  men  of  the  Third  Indiana  were 
at  the  crossing  of  a  road  running  parallel  with  the  road  upon  which 
Major  Hall  with  the  main  force  was  moving  and  another  road  that 
crossed  both  of  these  parallel  roads.  A  force  of  rebel  cavalry 
charged  down  this  cross  road,  capturing  Lieutenant  Rogers  and 
the  two  men  with  him,  and  were  coming  after  me  farther  along  on 
this  parallel  road.  My  only  chance  of  escape  was  to  leave  the 
road  and  cut  across  a  strip  of  open  ground  and  woods  in  an  en 
deavor  to  reach  Major  Hall's  command.  I  made  this  ride  in  full 
view  of  the  rebels  who  were  after  me.  They  all  seemed  to  turn 
their  fire  on  me,  but  luckily  I  was  not  hit  and  reached  the  main 
column  unhurt  after  my  desperate  ride.  Major  Hall  rejoined 
General  Kilpatrick's  command  about  daylight." 

The  raid  was  not  a  success,  and  perhaps  never  should  have  been 
undertaken,  but  it  showed  the  desperate  bravery  of  the  men  who 
took  part  in  it,  and  no  doubt  changed  the  military  career  of  the 
man  who  conceived  it.  General  Kilpatrick  was  sent  to  the  West 
ern  army  and  given  the  command  of  a  division  of  cavalry,  and  his 
dashing  career  there  is  noted  in  other  chapters  of  this  history. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  1864,  General  Sheridan  was  placed  in 
command  of  the  Cavalry  Corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and 
its  Third  Division  under  the  command  of  Brig. -Gen.  James  H. 
Wilson.  The  Second  Brigade  of  this  division  was  commanded 
by  Col.  George  H.  Chapman,  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  and 
the  regiment  was  commanded  by  Maj.  William  Patton.  The 


138  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

other  regiments  of  the  brigade  were  the  Eighth  Illinois  Cavalry 
under  Lieut.  William  W.  Long,  Eighth  New  York  under 
Lieut-Col.  William  H.  Benjamin  and  First  Vermont  under 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Preston. 

In  Volume  XXXVI  of  the  Official  Record,  beginning  at  page 
896,  we  have  the  official  report  of  this  Wilderness  campaign,  fur 
nished  by  Col.  George  H.  Chapman,  written  at  the  headquarters 
of  the  Second  Brigade,  Third  Division  of  Cavalry,  on  the  12th  of 
July,  1864.  This  officer  says: 

"Captain — I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report  of 
the  operations  of  this  brigade  from  May  3  to  July  1,  1864: 

"At  midnight  on  the  night  of  May  3,  in  compliance  with  orders, 
the  brigade  broke  camp  at  Stevensburg,  crossed  to  the  plank  road 
and  moved  to  Germania  Ford  on  the  Rapidan  river.  Arriving 
there  I  made  disposition  of  my  command  to  force  a  crossing  should 
the  enemy  offer  opposition,  and  at  early  dawn  my  brigade  moved 
rapidly  across  the  river,  meeting  with  no  resistance,  and  massed 
on  the  plank  road,  two  or  three  miles  from  the  river.  After  a 
short  halt,  proceeded  up  the  plank  to  Old  Wilderness  Tavern  and 
from  thence  to  Parkers  Store  by  a  country  road,  where  we  bivou 
acked  and  threw  out  strong  pickets  on  all  approaches.  During 
the  march  nothing  was  seen  of  the  enemy  save  a  small  mounted 
force,  which  retreated  rapidly  before  our  advance. 

"Marched  early  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  with  division,  this 
brigade  in  advance,  to  Craigs  Church,  on  the  Catharpin  road,  which 
point  was  reached  about  11  a.  m.  I  sent  a  battalion  of  the  First 
Vermont  Cavalry  forward  on  the  Catharpin  road  with  instruc 
tions  to  picket  and  patrol  the  road  well  toward  Mine  Run,  but 
when  they  proceeded  less  than  a  mile  their  advance  was  attacked 
by  the  enemy  and  driven  rapidly  back  on  the  main  body.  I  im 
mediately  re-enforced  this  battalion;  and,  the  country  being 
densely  timbered  on  both  sides  of  the  road  and  the  enemy  dis 
mounted,  I  soon  dismounted  the  greater  part  of  my  brigade  and 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  139 

drove  the  enemy  steadily  back  a  distance  of  two  miles,  he  con 
testing  very  hard  every  inch  of  the  ground. 

"Reaching  a  ravine,  I  was  ordered  not  to  proceed  farther,  being 
then  several  miles  in  advance  of  the  First  Brigade,  but  to  hold 
the  road  at  the  point  I  had  reached  with  a  strong  picket  force  and 
get  the  rest  of  my  command  together  and  mounted,  in  a  field  a 
half  mile  to  the  rear  of  the  advanced  position.  These  instructions 
were  carried  out,  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  being  held  in  line  of 
battle,  dismounted,  along  the  ravine.  I  remained  myself  with 
this  regiment.  Subsequently — an  hour,  I  should  judge — it  was 
reported  to  me  from  the  line  of  skirmishers  thrown  forward  in  the 
pines  that  the  enemy  had  strongly  re-enforced  his  line  and  was 
making  preparations  to  advance.  This  report  was  soon  verified, 
the  enemy  coming  on  in  strong  force,  before  which  the  Third 
Indiana  Cavalry  was  compelled  to  fall  back.  I  again  was  obliged 
to  put  in  my  entire  force,  which  was  still  much  inferior  to  the 
enemy,  and  continued  to  fall  back.  The  confusion  occasioned  by 
getting  a  large  number  of  led  horses  hastily  back  on  the  road  was 
communicated  to  the  men  and  caused  the  men  to  break  badly,  of 
which  the  enemy  was  not  slow  to  take  advantage. 

"We  were  driven  back  behind  a  line  of  battle  formed  by  a  part 
of  the  First  Brigade,  and  subsequently  retired  to  Todds  Tavern. 
I  moved  my  command  to  a  point  on  the  Brock  road  one  and  one- 
half  miles  north  of  Todds  Tavern  and  sent  out  pickets  on  various 
roads.  At  3  a.  m.  took  the  road  to  Piney  Branch  Church,  where 
the  division  took  position.  Subsequently  marched  with  division 
to  Chancellorsville  and  bivouacked. 

"On  the  morning  of  the  7th,  having  supplied  the  command  with 
rations,  in  pursuance  of  orders  I  moved  to  Alrich's,  on  Fred- 
ricksburg  plank  road,  and  relieved  General  Merritt's  brigade,  of 
First  Cavalry  Division,  doing  picket  duty  at  that  point.  Later  in 
the  day  my  brigade  was  relieved  by  General  Davies'  brigade,  of 
Second  Cavalry  Division.  Eeconnoitered  to  Alsop's,  on  Spotsyl- 


140  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

vania  Court  House  road,  without  developing  anything,  and  re 
turned  to  Alrich's  and  encamped  for  the  night.  Moved  with  the 
division  on  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  May  to  Spotsylvania  Court 
House,  the  First  Brigade  heing  in  advance. 

"At  the  Court  House  formed  line  of  battle  in  support  of  the  First 
Brigade,  which  was  warmly  engaged  with  the  enemy.  Retired, 
bringing  up  rear  of  division  (the  enemy  not  following)  to  Alsop's. 
Marched  the  morning  of  the  9th  at  5  o'clock  with  division  in  light 
order,  and  joining  the  other  divisions  of  the  Cavalry  Corps  at  the 
plank  road  proceeded  by  the  road  to  Hamiltons  Crossing,  as  far  as 
Fredricksburg  and  Richmond  Telegraph  road;  thence  via  Stan- 
ard's  Mill,  Thornburg  and  Chilesburg,  to  the  crossing  of  the  North 
Anna  river,  near  Beaver  Dam  Station,  where  the  brigade  bivou 
acked  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river. 

"Nothing  of  importance  occurred  during  the  day's  march,  save 
the  exchange  of  a  few  shots  between  the  flankers  and  small  parties 
of  the  enemy  and  the  capture  of  a  rebel  captain. 

"Early  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  the  enemy  began  shelling 
our  camps,  but  at  8  a.  m.  the  brigade  crossed  the  river  without 
molestation  or  damage.  March  today  was  without  event.  Crossed 
the  South  Anna  river  at  Ground  Squirrel  Bridge  and  encamped 
near  the  river.  Again,  on  the  morning  of  the  llth,  the  enemy 
shelled  our  camps,  and  in  getting  into  column  of  route  one  bat 
talion  of  the  Eighth  New  York  Cavalry,  Maj.  C.  Moore  com 
manding,  became  engaged  with  the  enemy  and  lost  several  men, 
but  successfully  checked  a  charge  made  on  the  rear  of  the  Second 
Division. 

"Being  relieved  by  a  regiment  of  the  Second  Division  the  bat 
talion  soon  after  rejoined  the  brigade.  Having  crossed  the  Fred- 
ricksburg  &  Richmond  railroad,  I  received  orders  to  go  forward 
and  assist  General  Custer  in  driving  back  the  enemy  from  our 
front.  I  found  General  Custer  near  the  Brook  pike  not  actively 
engaged  at  the  time  I  joined  him.  Dismounting  the  Third  In- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  141 

diana  and  Eighth  New  York  I  formed  them  in  line  of  battle  on 
the  left  of  the  dismounted  men  of  Ouster's  brigade,  holding  the 
First  Vermont  in  reserve,  mounted.  Dispositions  being  complete 
the  order  to  move  forward  was  given,  and  the  line  advancing  into 
the  thick  pine  wood  soon  became  warmly  engaged.  As  our  men 
advanced  the  enemy  opened  with  very  accurate  artillery  fire. 
Having  surveyed  the  ground,  General  Ouster  proposed  if  I  would 
place  a  regiment  (the  First  Vermont)  at  his  disposal  he  would 
charge  the  battery,  to  which  I  acceded.  The  charge  was  made 
by  the  First  Vermont  and  a  regiment  of  General  Ouster's  brigade, 
myself  accompanying  the  First  Vermont.  In  this  charge  two 
pieces  of  artillery  and  a  number  of  prisoners  were  captured  by 
General  Ouster  and  the  enemy  were  driven  back  a  considerable 
distance  in  much  confusion.  Not  being  ordered  to  follow  the 
enemy  up,  the  command  halted  and  at  dark  massed  near  the  Brook 
turnpike.  The  loss  of  my  brigade  in  this  engagement,  which  was 
considerable,  has  already  been  reported. 

"At  10  p.  m.  again  resumed  the  march,  my  brigade  in  advance, 
under  orders  to  move  to  Fair  Oaks  Station.  Crossing  to  the 
Meadow  Bridge  road  we  succeeded  in  finding  a  man — a  resident 
— willing  to  guide  the  column  to  the  Mechanicsville  pike.  Taking 
a  farm  road  running  along  through  the  outer  fortifications  of 
Richmond,  we  reached  the  Mechanicsville  pike  shortly  before  day 
break  at  a  point  about  three  and  one-half  miles  from  the  city.  A 
mile  before  reaching  the  pike  a  small  mounted  picket  had  discov 
ered  our  approach  and  retreated  rapidly  towards  the  city. 

"At  the  pike  the  brigade  was  massed  in  a  field  bordering  on  the 
road  to  await  information  in  regard  to  roads,  when  we  were  sud 
denly  opened  upon  by  artillery  and  musketry,  causing  temporary 
confusion.  I  caused  the  command  to  be  rapidly  dismounted,  to 
fight  on  foot,  and  the  horses  to  be  placed  under  cover.  Continued 
to  hold  the  position  until  daylight,  when  it  was  discovered  that 
the  enemy  had  a  strong  line  of  earthworks  a  short  distance  in  our 


142  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

front,  and  I  withdrew  my  brigade  to  a  better  position  along  the 
line  of  the  Virginia  Central  railroad,  with  the  First  Brigade  on 
the  right.  About  11  o'clock  a  force  of  the  enemy's  infantry  came 
out  of  their  works  and  attacked  my  brigade,  but  were  driven  back 
with  ease. 

"At  2  p.  m.  my  brigade  crossed  the  Chickahominy  at  Meadow 
Bridge,  and,  after  a  halt  of  a  couple  of  hours,  marched  to  Mechan- 
icsville.  Here  a  brief  halt  was  ordered,  after  which  we  again  re 
sumed  the  march,  receiving  orders  to  proceed  to  Gain's  House. 
Being  misled  by  a  guide,  it  was  near  midnight  when  my  com 
mand  reached  the  last  named  place  and  bivouacked. 

"On  the  13th  marched  to  Bottom  Bridge,  and  on  the  14th  to 
Malvern  Hill,  nothing  of  importance  occurring  on  either  day;  on 
the  15th  to  near  Haxalls  Landing  on  the  James  river  and  went 
into  camp ;  received  supplies.  Remained  in  camp  at  Haxalls  until 
9  p.  m.  on  the  evening  of  the  17th  of  May,  when  the  brigade 
marched  with  division.  Were  on  the  road  all  night,  and  at  8  a.  m. 
crossed  the  Chickahominy  at  Jones  Bridge.  After  a  short  halt 
marched  to  Mount  Olive  Church  and  bivouacked. 

"On  the  19th  moved  to  near  Baltimore  Store  and  went  into 
camp.  Made  details  for  picket  duty.  Marched  on  the  20th  with 
division  via  Tunstalls  Station  to  near  Tyler's,  on  the  Cold  Har 
bor  road,  and  encamped.  Remained  at  this  point  until  the  morn 
ing  of  the  22d,  when  the  command  moved  to  the  White  House. 
Nothing  of  importance  occurred  during  these  days. 

"The  following  day  (the  23d)  the  brigade  crossed  the  Pamunkey 
river  on  the  railroad  bridge,  bringing  up  the  rear  of  the  corps. 
My  entire  command  was  over  by  1  p.  m.  In  pursuance  of  orders, 
I  detailed  a  squadron  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  Captain 
Moffitt  commanding,  to  destroy  the  bridge  by  throwing  off  the 
covering,  which  work  was  effectually  accomplished.  Marched  by 
way  of  King  William  Court  House  to  Aylett's  and  halted  for  the 
night. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  143 

"On  the  24th  the  command  marched  to  Reedy  Swamp  on  the 
Richmond  and  Bowling  Green  road.  The  next  day  marched  via 
Chesterfield  to  Colemans  Mill  on  Polecat  creek  and  encamped. 
Receiving  orders  on  the  morning  of  the  26th,  and,  after  receiving 
a  supply  of  forage,  the  command  marched,  crossing  the  North 
Anna  and  demonstrating  on  the  right  of  our  army  to  cover  its 
movements.  At  11  p.  m.  recrossed  the  North  Anna  river  at  But 
lers  Bridge  and  halted  for  the  remainder  of  the  night.  While  the 
demonstration  was  being  made  on  Little  river,  which  was  mainly 
performed  by  the  First  Brigade  of  the  division,  I  directed 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Benjamin  to  take  his  regiment,  the  Eighth 
New  York  Cavalry,  and  destroy  as  much  of  the  track  of  the  Vir 
ginia  Central  as  he  could  before  the  command  should  retire  across 
the  North  Anna.  He  accomplished  considerable,  doing  the  work 
very  well.  This  was  at  Hewletts  Station. 

"On  the  27th  of  May  the  brigade  moved  with  the  division  to 
Chesterfield,  marching  slowly,  making  halts  at  different  points, 
relieving  the  infantry  at  various  crossings  on  the  North  Anna  and 
covering  the  rear  of  the  army  in  its  movements.  The  command 
(marching  with  the  division)  continued  to  cover  the  rear  of  the 
army  on  the  28th  and  29th  instant  (May),  bivouacking  on  the  first 
night  at  Mangohick  Church  and  the  second  night  about  two  and 
one-half  miles  from  Hanovertown.  No  event  of  importance  oc 
curred  to  mark  these  days.  In  pursuance  of  orders,  on  the  after 
noon  of  the  30th  I  moved  my  command  to  Crumps  Swamp,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Pamunkey  river,  and  sent  the  Third  Indiana 
Cavalry  forward  a  couple  of  miles  on  the  road  to  Hanover  Court 
House.  They  came  upon  a  force  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  and  skir 
mished  with  them  until  dark.  Encamped  on  Crumps  Swamp, 
with  heavy  picket  detail  on  the  Hanover  Court  House  road. 

"On  the  31st  sent  forward  patrols  on  the  road  to  Hanover  Court 
House,  which  were  met  by  the  enemy  in  force.  The  First  Brigade 
coming  up  relieved  my  command,  with  the  exception  of  a  part  of 


144  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

the  Third  Indiana,  which  remained  on  the  left  of  the  line  until 
the  enemy  were  driven  back  to  Hanover  Court  House.  From  pris 
oners  taken  I  learned  that  we  were  engaged  with  Young's  brigade 
of  rebel  cavalry.  Bivouacked  near  Winston's  House  on  the  Han 
over  Court  House  and  Richmond  road,  with  a  strong  picket  force 
in  the  direction  of  Richmond. 

"At  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  June  I  moved  my  com 
mand,  with  the  exception  of  the  Eighth  New  York  Cavalry,  which 
was  left  to  picket  and  hold  the  Richmond  and  Hanover  Court 
House  road,  to  the  south  bank  of  Mechumps  creek  opposite  Han 
over  Court  House,  and  went  into  position  to  cover  the  movement  of 
the  First  Brigade.  Subsequently,  having  received  orders  to  cross 
the  creek,  I  moved  forward  the  command  and  with  one  regiment, 
the  First  Vermont,  re-enforced  the  Second  New  York  Cavalry, 
which  was  skirmishing  with  a  force  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  (Mary 
land  Battalion)  on  the  Virginia  Central  railroad.  The  enemy 
was  steadily  driven  back,  moving  off  on  the  road  running  parallel 
with  the  South  Anna  river.  In  the  meantime  the  Third  Indiana 
Cavalry  and  French's  battery  were  ordered  forward,  moving  in 
column  on  the  road,  and  the  Second  New  York  Cavalry  were  re 
lieved,  the  First  Vermont  remaining  in  advance  and  skirmishing 
with  the  enemy  until  he  left  our  front  at  the  Fredricksburg  rail 
road.  When  the  enemy  had  been  driven  beyond  Wickham's  House 
I  sent  a  squadron  under  Captain  Cushman,  of  the  First  Vermont, 
to  destroy  the  railroad  bridge  on  the  Central  road  over  the  South 
Anna  river.  Upon  reaching  the  Fredricksburg  railroad  the  same 
detail  was  sent  to  destroy  the  bridge  on  that  road  over  the  same 
stream.  Both  of  these  bridges  were  effectually  destroyed  by  fire, 
including  the  trestle  work  as  well  as  superstructure,  as  also  the 
water  tanks;  the  road  was  further  damaged  by  the  destruction  of 
small  bridges  and  cattle  guards  at  different  points. 

"While  still  upon  the  Fredricksburg  railroad  and  before  the 
detail  sent  to  destroy  the  bridge  had  returned,  I  received  an  order 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  145 

from  the  general  commanding  the  division,  by  one  of  his  staff 
officers,  to  retire  with  my  command  hastily  to  Hanover  Court 
House.  I  should  have  mentioned  that  upon  reaching  the  Fred- 
ricksburg  railroad,  at  the  point  where  the  Telegraph  road  crosses 
the  railroad,  which  is  about  a  mile  from  the  South  Anna  bridge, 
I  had  sent  a  battalion  of  the  First  Vermont,  under  Major  Wells, 
down  the  Telegraph  road  towards  Ashland ;  this  battalion  had  be 
come  engaged  with  a  force  of  the  enemy  which  had  attacked  the 
rear  of  the  First  Brigade  at  that  point.  Upon  receiving  the  order 
above  mentioned  to  retire  to  Hanover  Court  House,  and  being  en 
joined  to  use  much  haste,  I  ordered  this  battalion  to  retire.  Soon 
after,  the  commanding  general  of  the  division  having  arrived  upon 
the  ground,  a  courier  sent  by  myself  to  Colonel  Mclntosh,  com 
manding  the  First  Brigade,  having  returned  with  information 
that  he  was  hard  pressed  and  needed  relief,  I  was  ordered  to  send 
the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  with  the  battery  to  Hanover  Court 
House,  and  with  the  First  Vermont  to  push  down  the  Telegraph 
road  as  far  as  Ashland  to  the  assistance  of  the  First  Brigade.  Near 
Ashland  we  came  upon  the  enemy;  the  road  being  lined  on  either 
side  by  a  dense  forest,  the  command  was  dismounted  and  formed 
in  line  of  battle,  the  center  on  the  road.  Efforts  to  form  a  con 
nection  on  our  right  with  the  First  Brigade  proved  fruitless.  The 
line  was  advanced  cautiously  and  with  some  difficulty,  but  had  pro 
ceeded  only  a  short  distance  when  the  enemy  attacked  us  in  large 
force  in  front  and  flank.  The  line  soon  gave  back,  retreating  with 
considerable  loss  and  closely  pressed.  Colonel  Mclntosh  had  suc 
ceeded  in  retiring  his  force  from  Ashland,  and,  coming  up  soon 
after,  the  regiment  received  the  full  attention  of  the  enemy.  A 
regiment  of  his  brigade  was  drawn  up  on  the  Telegraph  road  and 
checked  the  advance  of  the  enemy.  The  First  Vermont  was  re 
mounted  and  retired,  by  way  of  Hanover  Court  House,  to  near 
Winston's  House  and  bivouacked  with  the  remainder  of  the 


146  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

brigade.  The  service  of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry  this  day  was 
arduous  and  severe  and  its  loss  heavy.  The  command  is  worthy 
of  the  highest  praise. 

"Remained  in  camp  on  the  2d  of  June  until  an  hour  after  dark, 
when  the  brigade  marched  in  the  rear  of  the  First  Brigade,  taking 
the  road  to  Hanoverton.  Marched  all  night,  halting  at  Linney's, 
south  of  Totopotomoy  creek,  at  daylight.  At  10  a.  m.  on  the  3d 
the  brigade  recrossed  the  Totopotomoy  (advance  of  division),  with 
the  Eighth  New  York  in  advance,  and  took  the  road  to  Salem 
Church,  near  which  we  came  upon  the  enemy  (cavalry  dismounted 
in  the  woods  and  occupying  some  breastworks  vacated  by  our 
troops).  Feeling  the  enemy  with  the  Eighth  New  York  and  find 
ing  them  too  strong  in  numbers  and  position  for  that  command,  I 
directed  the  Third  Indiana  and  First  Vermont  to  be  dismounted 
to  fight  on  foot,  and  formed  line  of  battle  with  the  Eighth  New 
York  on  the  right  and  the  First  Vermont  on  the  left.  While  these 
dispositions  were  being  made,  and  previous  to  the  arrival  of  the 
First  Vermont  on  the  line,  the  enemy  made  a  spirited  attack,  but 
were  repulsed  with  loss,  leaving  a  number  of  their  killed  upon  the 
ground.  As  soon  as  my  line  was  formed  I  ordered  an  advance, 
and,  moving  forward  under  a  heavy  fire,  my  men  drove  the  rebels 
from  their  position  and  they  fell  back  to  another  line  of  breast 
works.  While  re-forming  my  line  and  awaiting  the  arrival  of  a 
regiment  from  the  First  Brigade,  the  enemy  retired  from  my 
front.  The  force  here  engaged  was  that  formerly  commanded  by 
the  rebel  General  Gordon,  and  must  have  lost  heavily.  The  vic 
tory  was  not  bought  without  cost.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Preston  of 
the  First  Vermont,  a  zealous  and  faithful  commander,  and  Capt. 
Cushman  of  the  same  regiment,  a  most  valuable  and  gallant  officer, 
both  fell  mortally  wounded  and  expired  on  the  field  of  battle; 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Benjamin,  commanding  the  Eighth  New  York, 
was  severely  though  not  dangerously  wounded. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  147 

"Late  in  the  afternoon,  in  pursuance  of  orders  from  General 
Wilson,  I  sent  a  regiment,  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  Major 
Patton  commanding,  in  conjunction  with  the  Second  New  York, 
across  the  Totopotomoy  to  demonstrate  upon  the  left  of  the  enemy's 
main  line.  The  command  dashed  across  in  good  style,  driving  the 
enemy's  skirmishers  hastily  back  to  their  lines  and  capturing 
several.  Position  was  held  on  the  south  side  of  the  creek  until 
sundown,  when,  owing  to  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  it  was 
deemed  prudent  to  retire  across  the  creek  and  join  the  main  body 
of  the  division,  which  was  effected  without  loss.  The  crossing  and 
recrossing  were  covered  by  a  section  of  Ransom's  battery.  Shortly 
after  dark  I  moved  my  command  to  the  Hanoverton  road  and 
encamped.  Held  the  approaches  to  Hanoverton  from  the  south 
and  west. 

"June  4  and  5  passed  without  movement  or  event  of  impor 
tance.  On  the  5th  the  Twenty-second  New  York  joined  the 
brigade.  On  the  6th  moved  to  Bottom  Bridge  and  relieved  the 
Second  Cavalry  Division  doing  picket  duty  from  left  of  infantry 
to  Jones  Bridge  on  the  Chickahominy,  the  left  of  the  infantry 
resting  at  railroad  bridge.  The  brigade  continued  the  perform 
ance  of  this  duty  until  the  12th  of  June  without  anything  oc 
curring  on  the  line  except  a  little  firing  between  the  pickets.  I 
caused  all  the  crossings  to  be  made  defensible  by  constructing 
breastworks  under  cover  of  the  night,  and  having  succeeded  in 
doing  this  the  enemy  ceased  to  fire  upon  my  pickets. 

"On  the  9th  the  First  New  Hampshire  Cavalry  joined  the 
brigade.  At  dark  on  June  12th,  in  pursuance  of  orders  directing 
a  general  movement  of  the  army,  I  moved  my  command  to  Long 
Bridge,  on  the  Chickahominy.  Finding  the  bridge  destroyed  and 
the  stream  not  fordable,  I  dismounted  the  Twenty-second  New 
York  and  Third  Indiana.  The  first  named  command  was  mainly 
crossed  on  a  log  a  short  distance  above  the  bridge,  and,  making 
their  way  with  much  difficulty  and  considerable  delay  through  the 


148         ,     HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

swamp,  succeeded  in  crossing  the  second  branch  of  the  stream  as 
they  had  crossed  the  first,  on  logs,  joining  the  brigade  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  river  or  swamp.  In  the  meantime  a  pontoon  boat 
having  been  launched  into  the  first  branch  of  the  stream,  the  Third 
Indiana  were  hastily  crossed  over  under  fire  from  a  small  force  of 
the  enemy  who  occupied  a  rifle-pit  on  the  south  bank  of  the  second 
branch  of  the  stream.  These  were  soon  driven  back  and  the  Third 
Indiana  crossed  the  second  branch  on  limbs  and  logs  of  trees  and 
formed  in  line  of  battle,  with  skirmishers  well  to  the  front.  Owing 
to  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome,  considerable  time  was  consumed 
in  laying  the  pontoon  bridges  and  it  was  midnight  when  my  com 
mand  was  entirely  over.  The  command  then  moved  forward  to 
White  Oak  Swamp,  the  advance  skirmishing  with  a  small  body  of 
the  enemy's  cavalry,  who  fell  back  across  the  swamp.  At  this 
point  we  found  the  enemy  prepared  to  make  resistance  to  our 
further  advance,  with  a  battery  in  position,  from  which  they 
opened  fire.  Lieutenant  Fitzhue's  battery,  then  serving  with  this 
brigade,  was  ordered  into  position,  and  a  lively  artillery  duel 
ensued  in  which  one  section  of  our  battery  suffered  considerable  in 
men  and  horses  (Vol.  XL,  page  643). 

"Holding  this  position  on  White  Oak  Swamp  until  the  arrival 
of  a  part  of  General  Crawford's  division  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  by 
which  I  was  relieved,  I  was  directed  to  move  my  command  on  the 
main  road  to  Richmond.  As  near  as  I  can  now  recollect  this  was 
about  noon  of  the  13th  (June).  Proceeding  about  a  mile  my 
advance  came  upon  the  enemy  strongly  posted  in  a  belt  of  timber 
in  front  of  Riddell's  Shop.  After  some  skirmishing,  finding 
enemy  disposed  to  contest  the  position  with  obstinacy,  I  directed 
Third  Indiana  and  Eighth  New  York  to  prepare  to  fight  on  foot, 
and  forming  them  in  line  of  battle  advanced  into  the  woods  at  a 
double  quick.  A  brigade  of  rebel  cavalry,  dismounted  and  armed 
mainly  with  rifled  muskets,  held  the  position,  but  they  soon  gave 
way  before  the  impetuosity  of  my  men,  leaving  many  of  their  dead 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  149 

and  wounded  on  the  field.  By  this  advance  I  was  enabled  to  cover 
the  road  to  Malvern  Hill  (Quaker  road),  and  was  directed  by  the 
general  commanding  not  to  advance  farther. 

"Patrols  sent  out  on  the  roads  to  my  front  developed  the  fact  that 
the  enemy  had  fallen  back  from  my  front  some  distance.  Being 
ordered  to  hold  this  position  until  otherwise  ordered,  I  formed  the 
line  of  battle  with  the  First  Vermont,  Third  Indiana  and  Eighth 
New  York,  the  left  of  the  line  resting  on  the  Quaker  road,  the 
right  extending  well  across  the  road  from  Bottoms  Bridge.  The 
First  New  Hampshire,  Twenty-second  New  York  and  Fitzhue's  bat 
tery  were  formed  as  a  supporting  line  in  the  fields  in  rear.  Three 
hours  passed  without  any  appearance  of  the  enemy,  and  during  this 
time  a  slight  breastwork  was  thrown  up  on  some  parts  of  the  line. 
At  about  6  p.  m.  the  enemy  were  discovered  advancing  in  strong 
line  of  battle  and  heavy  column  down  the  Bottoms  Bridge  road,  the 
entire  force,  so  far  as  it  was  developed,  being  infantry.  Soon  the 
entire  line  became  engaged.  My  ammunition  being  nearly  ex 
hausted  and  the  enemy  showing  vastly  superior  numbers,  I  deemed 
it  prudent  to  retire  to  the  position  held  by  my  second  line,  which 
was  done  in  good  order.  Having  reported  that  I  needed  re- 
enforcements  in  order  to  hold  the  enemy  in  check,  two  or  three  regi 
ments  of  infantry  came  up  and  were  disposed  without  any  direc 
tion  from  me.  Until  after  dark  nothing  of  importance  transpired 
save  a  good  deal  of  desultory  skirmishing  along  the  lines.  At  near 
dark  the  enemy  advanced  from  the  cover  of  the  timber  in  strong 
line  of  infantry,  and  a  regiment  of  our  infantry  which  had  been 
posted  on  the  right  of  my  line  gave  way  rapidly  with  scarcely  a 
show  of  resistance,  throwing  the  right  of  my  line  in  considerable 
confusion.  The  left,  however,  retired  in  good  order,  and  Fitzhue's 
battery  was  moved  off  at  a  walk.  Some  difficulty,  occasioned  by 
getting  the  horses  through  a  line  of  battle  formed  in  our  rear  by 
General  Crawford's  division,  created  a  show  of  confusion  and  a 
scare  upon  the  part  of  the  cavalry  which  in  reality  did  not  pre- 


150  HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

vail.  The  command  passed  to  the  rear  of  the  infantry  and  was 
massed  in  a  field  nearby  until  about  10  p.  m.,  when  the  brigade 
moved  in  the  rear  of  infantry  in  the  direction  of  Charles  City 
Court  House.  At  2  p.  m.  bivouacked  near  Nancy's  Shop. 

aThe  brigade  moved  soon  after  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the 
14th  and  proceeded  to  Harrison  Landing,  where  supplies  were  re 
ceived  and  issued  to  the  command.  While  here  the  enemy  attacked 
the  pickets  on  the  road  to  Saint  Mary's  Church,  but  were  driven 
off  by  the  Eighth  New  York.  Moved  to  Phillips  and  held  the 
approaches.  A  reconnoitering  party  sent  out  three  miles  toward 
Malvern  Hill  returned  without  meeting  the  enemy.  On  the  15th, 
with  the  First  Vermont  and  Eighth  and  Twenty-second  New  York 
and. a  section  of  Fitzhue's  battery,  I  made  a  reconnoissance  to 
Malvern  Hill,  where  we  had  a  sharp  skirmish  and  developed  the 
enemy  near  that  position  in  very  considerable  force.  In  the 
vicinity  of  Phillips  there  was  no  manifestation  of  the  presence  of 
the  enemy  during  the  day. 

"At  dark  on  the  16th,  in  compliance  with  instructions,  moved 
my  command  via  Charles  City  Court  House  to  James  river,  near 
pontoon  bridge,  and  encamped  until  the  morning  of  the  following 
day,  when  we  crossed  the  James  river  on  the  pontoon  bridge  and, 
proceeding  to  a  mile  beyond  Prince  George  Court  House  on  the 
road  to  Petersburg,  encamped  for  the  night. 

"On  the  18th  moved  to  near  Mount  Zion  Church  on  the  Black- 
water,  where  the  brigade  remained  in  camp  until  the  morning  of 
the  22d  without  incident  of  importance.  On  the  morning  of  the 
22 d  of  June  at  early  dawn  the  brigade  left  camp  upon  the  Black- 
water,  bringing  up  the  rear  of  the  column,  and  marching  across 
the  Suffolk  railroad  and  the  Jerusalem  plank  road,  reached  the 
Weldon  railroad  at  Reams  Station.  At  this  point  I  detached  a 
squadron  of  the  Eighth  New  York  Cavalry  to  effect  such  damage 
to  the  road  as  would  be  possible  during  the  passage  of  my  brigade, 
and  about  the  same  time  the  enemy  began  to  manifest  his  presence 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  151 

upon  my  right  flank  and  opened  with  artillery  upon  the  column, 
but  without  effect.  From  this  point  the  enemy  (W.  H.  F. 
Lee's  division  of  cavalry)  followed  the  rear  of  the  column  closely, 
keeping  up  a  continual  skirmish  until  a  couple  of  hours  after 
nightfall.  Until  near  sundown  the  rear  of  my  column  was  covered 
by  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry,  Major  Wells  commanding,  when, 
being  exhausted  by  the  work,  I  relieved  them  with  the  Twenty- 
second  New  York  Cavalry.  About  11  p.  m.  I  bivouacked  my 
command  near  Fords  Station  on  the  South  Side  railroad. 

"On  the  morning  of  the  23d  I  moved  my  command  from  bivou- 
ack  about  an  hour  before  daylight, 'and  proceeding  by  the  Cox  road 
moved  along  the  railroad,  detaching  regiments  at  different  points 
to  destroy  the  track,  until  we  reached  Blacks  and  Whites,  where 
we  made  an  hour's  halt. 

"At  this  point  a  considerable  quantity  of  cotton  was  destroyed. 
Again  resuming  the  march,  proceeded  towards  Nottoway  Court 
House.  By  following  the  road  taken  by  General  Kautz's  division 
we  were  carried  several  miles  out  of  the  more  direct  route,  and 
upon  reaching  a  point  near  Nottoway  Court  House,  where  the 
road  crosses  the  railroad,  the  head  of  the  column  came  upon  the 
enemy.  Soon  ascertaining  that  it  was  the  same  force  that  had  fol 
lowed  the  rear  the  day  previous,  I  made  disposition  to  meet  the 
enemy,  who  advanced  to  the  attack,  checked  his  advance  and  drove 
him  back  a  considerable  distance.  The  enemy  bringing  up  strong 
re-enforcements,  my  line  again  retired  to  its  original  position 
along  the  railroad,  from  which  repeated  attempts  of  the  enemy 
failed  to  dislodge  them.  In  answer  to  my  request  for  re-enforce 
ments,  the  Fifth  New  York  Cavalry  was  sent  to  me  at  a  late  hour 
in  the  afternoon,  but  another  advance  of  the  line  not  being  deter 
mined  upon  only  a  small  fraction  of  that  command  became  en 
gaged  and  towards  morning  I  relieved  them  from  the  line. 

"This  engagement  lasted  from  1  p.  m.  until  dark  and  at  times 
was  quite  severe.  My  loss  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing  was 


152  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

,  while  that  of  the  enemy  was  fully  equal,  and  I  am  in 
clined  to  think  exceeded  my  own.  Here  fell  Captain  McNair  of 
the  Eighth  New  York  Cavalry,  a  noble  officer,  whose  cool  in 
trepidity  and  noble  daring  had  endeared  him  to  all  who  knew 
him.  Among  the  missing  is  Captain  Sayres  of  the  same  regiment, 
distinguished  alike  for  his  gallantry  and  dash. 

aMy  command  remained  in  line  of  battle  until  near  daylight, 
when  in  accordance  with  instructions,  I  quietly  withdrew,  taking 
the  Hungarytown  road  to  the  Danville  railroad  near  Meherin 
Station,  and  thence  to  Keysville,  where  I  bivouacked  for  the 
night. 

"Early  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  instant  again  took  up  the 
line  of  march,  my  brigade  bringing  up  the  rear  of  column,  and 
proceeding  slowly  up  the  Danville  road,  making  several  details 
for  the  work  of  destruction  of  the  railroad,  until  near  sundown; 
when  near  the  crossing  of  the  Little  Roanoke  river  the  enemy 
again  came  up  with  my  rear  and  some  light  skirmishing  ensued. 
I  made  disposition  to  meet  the  attack,  but  the  enemy  showed  little 
disposition  to  fight  and  contented  himself  with  opening  fire  at  long 
range  from  a  section  of  rifled  pieces,  by  which  one  piece  of 
Maynadier's  battery,  serving  with  my  brigade,  was  disabled,  but 
brought  off. 

•  "My  forces  remained  in  position  until  2  a.  m.  on  the  morning 
of  the  26th,  when,  in  compliance  with  orders,  I  withdrew  and  pro 
ceeded  up  the  railroad  to  Roanoke  Station,  where  the  direction  of 
march  was  changed,  and  following  the  First  Brigade,  we  passed 
through  Christianville  and  encamped  at  Buckhorn  Creek.  On  the 
27th  crossed  the  Meherin  river  at  Saffolds  Bridge,  my  brigade 
leading  the  advance  of  the  column.  After  several  hours  halt  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  stream  we  turned  from  the  main  road  at 
Columbia  Grove,  and  securing  guides  along  the  way  proceeded  by 
cross  roads  across  the  country  through  a  well  settled  district  to 
the  Boydton  plank  road,  bivouacked  for  the  night  on  Great  Creek. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  153 

Marching  early  the  next  morning,  following  the  First  Brigade, 
proceeded  via  Smoky  Ordinary  to  Poplar  Mountain,  or  the  Double 
Bridges,  over  the  Nottoway  river,  which  we  reached  about  noon. 
Here  the  command  halted  to  water,  and  one  of  the  regiments  of 
my  brigade  (the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry)  was  ordered  to  proceed 
out  on  the  road  leading  to  Stony  Creek  Depot  as  far  as  Sappony 
Cross  Roads,  near  that  station ;  at  which  point  the  enemy  was  met. 
The  column  following  shortly  after,  I  was  ordered  to  send  another 
regiment  to  assist  the  First  Brigade  in  an  attack  upon  the  enemy's 
position,  it  being  then  after  dark.  Subsequently  I  placed  the 
Eighth  New  York  and  Twenty-second  New  York  Cavalry  in  re 
serve  line  of  battle. 

"Just  previous  to  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  29th  I  was 
ordered  by  Colonel  Mclntosh,  commanding  division,  to  place  my 
command  in  position  along  the  face  of  a  piece  of  timber  in  the  rear 
of  the  first  position  held  by  our  forces,  and  to  hold  the  position  as 
long  as  possible,  or  until  I  received  word  that  the  road  was  clear, 
so  that  I  could  retire  with  my  command.  I  formed  line  of  battle 
dismounted,  with  the  First  Vermont  on  the  left,  Eighth  New 
York,  Third  Indiana  and  Twenty-second  New  York  on  the  right, 
and  hastily  threw  up  a  small  work  of  rails.  At  full  daylight  the 
enemy  advanced  upon  my  front  in  strong  line  of  battle,  dis 
mounted,  and  simultaneously  made  a  strong  attack  upon  the  left 
flank  and  upon  my  led  horses  with  mounted  and  dismounted  men. 
My  line  gave  back  hurriedly,  and  many  of  the  men  were  unable 
to  reach  their  horses  on  the  road  upon  which  the  column  had  moved 
off.  Being  myself  dismounted  and  cut  off  from  the  road,  I  gath 
ered  together  some  300  of  my  command  and  proceeding  by  a  cir 
cuitous  route  I  succeeded  in  reaching  the  main  body  about  noon 
near  Reams  Station.  In  the  retrograde  movement  from  this  last 
point  my  command  was  assigned  the  advance,  and  moving  back 
across  the  Double  Bridges  over  the  Nottoway  took  the  road  to 
Jarretts  Station.  About  two  miles  from  the  last  named  point  the 


154  HlSTOBY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALBY. 

command  halted  a  couple  of  hours  in  the  road,  and  soon  after  day 
light  on  the  morning  of  the  30th  crossed  the  railroad  at  Jarretts 
Station  without  any  opposition  of  consequence.  Proceeding  by 
plantation  roads  to  Peters  Bridge,  on  the  ISTottoway,  and  fording 
the  river  (the  bridge  being  destroyed)  about  noon,  halted  the  com 
mand  until  6  p.  m.  Again  resuming  the  march  at  the  hour  named, 
my  brigade  in  advance,  proceeded  through  Waverly  to  Blunts 
Bridge  on  the  Blackwater,  arriving  there  about  midnight.  Found 
the  bridge  destroyed  and  the  river  not  fordable;  constructed  a 
bridge  and  commenced  crossing  my  command,  but  before  quite  a 
squadron  had  passed  over  the  bridge  gave  way,  precipitating  sev 
eral  horses  and  men  into  the  stream,  but  without  injury  or  loss. 
Again  repaired  the  bridge  and  commenced  crossing  the  command. 
At  daylight  my  brigade  was  all  over.  Moved  to  near  Cabin  Point 
and  encamped  for  the  night.  On  the  2d  instant  moved  to  present 
camp  on  James  river,  near  Light  House  Point. 

"During  the  entire  campaign  the  loss  in  commissioned  officers 
has  been  six  killed,  thirteen  wounded  and  seventeen  missing,  and 
in  enlisted  men  twenty-four  killed,  217  wounded  and  428  missing. 
I  have  constantly  received  from  the  officers  and  men  of  the  com 
mand  the  most  cordial  co-operation,  and  at  all  times  they  have  dis 
charged  the  arduous  duties  required  of  them  cheerfully  and  with 
vigor.  When  all  have  done  so  well  it  may  not  be  exactly  just  to 
discriminate,  but  I  can  not  close  my  report  without  making  men 
tion  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Benjamin,  Major  Pope  and  Major 
Moore  of  the  Eighth  New  York,  Major  Wells  and  Major  Bennett 
of  the  First  Vermont  and  Major  Patton  of  the  Third  Indiana, 
and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hutchins  of  the  First  New  Hampshire, 
who  have  at  all  times  been  active  and  efficient  in  the  discharge 
of  their  duties.  The  members  of  my  staff — Capt.  J.  J.  Me  Yean, 
acting  assistant  inspector-general;  Lieut.  G.  S.  Taylor,  acting 
assistant  adjutant-general;  Lieut.  G.  M.  Gilchrist,  acting  aide-de 
camp,  and  Lieut.  T.  C.  Farr,  provost  marshal — have  performed 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  155 

constant  and  active  duties  night  and  day,  rendering  me  most  effi 
cient  service,  and  are  entitled  to  special  mention. 

"Officers  and  men  have  borne  the  hardships  and  fatigues  of  the 
march  with  patience  and  willingness.  In  battle  they  have  been 
brave  and  gallant,  never  faltering  or  giving  way  except  before 
greatly  superior  numbers. 

"I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"GEORGE  H.  CHAPMAN, 
"Colonel  Third  Indiana  Cavalry,  Commanding  Brigade. 

"Capt.  Louis  SIEBERT, 

"Assistant  Adjutant-General,  Third  Cavalry  Division." 

This  was  the  last  service  performed  by  the  Eastern  battalion  of 
the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry — under  the  organization  as  it  had  en 
tered  the  field  in  September,  1861 — prior  to  its  muster  out  of 
service.  In  its  last  active  work,  from  June  22  to  July  2,  it  was 
commanded  by  Capt.  T.  W.  Moffitt  of  Company  F,  who,  on  July 
2,  1864,  from  the  headquarters  of  the  regiment  made  the  foil  owing 
report  (Vol.  XL,  Part  1,  page  647)  : 

"Adjutant — I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  action  of  the  com 
mand  on  the  late  raid  as  follows: 

"I  started  out  on  the  22d  ultimo  near  the  rear  of  the  command. 
Nothing  occurred  to  attract  my  attention  until  the  evening  of  the 
23d,  when  my  regiment  was  in  advance,  when  we  came  on  the 
enemy  in  force  stationed  on  the  railroad  near  Dinwiddie  Court 
House.  Fought  them  until  dark,  when  we  withdrew  and  marched 
to  Meherin  Station  on  the  Danville  railroad.  From  here  we 
marched  down  the  railroad,  destroying  it  as  we  went,  until  the 
night  of  the  26th,  when  we  were  in  the  rear.  The  enemy  coming 
on  us,  we  made  a  stand,  supported  by  the  Eighth  New  York,  held 
them  until  daylight,  when  we  withdrew  and  brought  up  the  rear 
to  Roanoke  Station.  From  here  we  marched  unmolested  to  Flat 
Rock,  when  we  took  the  advance  and  came  in  contact  with  the 
enemy  at  Stony  Creek.  Fought  them  all  night,  and  in  the  morn- 


156  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

ing  withdrew  from  their  front  and  marched  to  Reams  Station,  the 

regiment  being  somewhat  scattered  as  the  brigade  was  cut  off. 

Nothing  more  of  importance  occurred  on  our  part  during  the  raid, 

which  ended  on  the  2d  of  July. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

aT.  W.  MOFFITT, 

"Captain  Commanding  Third  Indiana  Cavalry. 
"Lieut.  G.  S.  TAYLOR, 

"Acting  Assistant  Adjutant-General  Second  Brigade,  Third  Cav 
alry  Division." 

At  page  482,  Vol.  XL,  Part  3,  appears  the  following  record: 
"Headquarters  Third  Division,  Cavalry  Corps, 

"July  26,  1864,  11 :30  p.  m. 
"Major-General  Humphrey,  Chief  of  Staff: 

"The  Third  Indiana,  now  on  picket,  will  be  relieved  at  daylight 
in  the  morning,  and  sent  away  as  soon  as  possible  thereafter. 

"JAMES  H.  WILSON,  Brigadier-General." 

Pursuant  to  this  dispatch,  the  men  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cav 
alry  whose  term  of  service  had  expired  were  sent  home  by  way  of 
Washington,  for  muster  out  of  service.  One  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine  men  who  had  been  recruited  for  the  Eastern  battalion  were 
retained  and  organized  into  two  companies  known  as  Companies 
A  and  B  reorganized.  The  old  brigade  with  its  old  commanders 
(Colonel  Chapman  having  been  made  Brigadier-General  of  U.  S. 
Volunteers)  on  the  31st  of  August,  1864,  was  transferred  to  the 
Middle  Military  Division,  commanded  by  Gen.  Philip  H.  Sheri 
dan,  and  the  detachment  of  the  Third  Indiana  was  under  the  com 
mand  of  Lieut.  Benjamin  F.  Gilbert  (Vol.  XLIII,  Part  1, 
page  987). 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

The  history  of  the  Eastern  wing  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry, 
after  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  service  of  the  main  body  of  the 
men  who  had  served  with  it,  and  until  the  close  of  the  war,  is  so 
well  told  in  the  diary  of  William  W.  Watlington,  a  former  member 
of  Company  E,  and  who  became  a  member  of  Company  B  in  the 
reorganization,  that  we  adopt  it  almost  as  it  was  written  forty 
years  ago.  This  comrade  says: 

"In  the  latter  part  of  July,  1864,  the  Third  Indiana  underwent 
a  radical  change.  Heretofore  it  had  been  the  only  regiment  in 
the  field  mounted  on  private  horses,  but  while  in  camp  near  Light 
House  Point  the  horses  of  the  regiment  were  appraised  and  bought 
by  the  government. 

"On  the  29th  of  July,  1864,  the  men  who  had  first  enlisted  were 
sent  home  for  muster  out  of  service,  and  all  that  remained,  189 
men,  including  recruits  and  men  who  had  veteraned,  were  organ 
ized  into  two  companies,  those  enlisting  in  1862  into  Company  B 
and  those  enlisting  in  1863  into  Company  A.  This  detachment 
was  still  attached  to  the  Third  Division  of  Cavalry,  commanded 
by  Gen.  J.  H.  Wilson,  which  on  August  8,  1864,  embarked  on 
board  the  transport  John  H.  Warren  for  Geisburg  Landing,  near 
Washington  City,  where  it  landed  on  the  9th  of  August,  and  un 
loading  went  into  camp  at  Camp  Stoneman.  It  remained  until 
the  night  of  August  12,  when  General  Wilson's  command  moved 
out  on  its  way  to  join  General  Sheridan  in  the  Shenandoah  Val 
ley,  where  he  had  begun  an  active  campaign  against  General 
Early,  who  had  been  having  things  his  own  way.  The  division 
camped  near  Chain  Bridge  for  the  night,  and  on  the  morning  of 
August  13  Company  B  of  the  Third  Indiana  was  ordered  to  report 

157 


158  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

to  the  headquarters  of  the  Second  Brigade  of  Wilson's  division  as 
escort  to  Colonel  Chapman,  in  command  of  the  brigade.  Late  in 
the  evening  the  command  moved  to  Drainsville,  where  it  arrived 
at  2  a.  m.  of  the  14th  and  waited  for  the  wagon  train  to  come  up. 
At  3  a.  m.  of  the  15th  the  command  moved  on  by  way  of  Goose 
Creek,  Leesburg  and  Snickersville,  arriving  at  the  latter  place  at 
9  p.  m.,  where  it  went  into  camp.  On  the  morning  of  the  16th 
the  command  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains  at  Snickers  Gap, 
moved  on  by  way  of  Berryville  to  White  Post  and  camped  at 
9  p.  m. 

"Here  the  course  of  the  command  was  changed  northwest  to 
Winchester,  where  it  arrived  about  noon  of  the  17th.  Soon  after 
our  arrival  the  rebels  began  driving  in  our  pickets.  The  Third 
Division  at  once  threw  out  its  lines  and  a  brisk  skirmish  followed, 
until  dark,  when  the  division  began  falling  back  in  the  direction 
of  Charlestown  on  the  Harpers  Ferry  railroad.  Company  A  of 
the  Third  Indiana  was  sent  with  a  message  to  General  Averill 
thirty  miles  north  of  Winchester  at  Martinsburg,  where  it  arrived 
on  the  morning  of  the  18th  at  3  a.  m.,  and  by  daylight  Averill's 
command  was  on  the  move  to  Shepardstown  on  the  Potomac. 
About  noon  of  the  18th  Company  A,  Third  Indiana,  and  the  Sec 
ond  West  Virginia  proceeded  to  Williamsport  on  the  Potomac, 
fifteen  miles  north  of  Shepardstown.  On  August  12th  marched 
to  Harpers  Ferry,  reported  to  general  headquarters  and  were 
ordered  to  Shepardstown,  and  remained  over  night. 

"At  3  p.  m.  on  the  20th  we  joined  our  division  on  the  Win 
chester  railroad  six  miles  beyond  Charlestown,  where  the  rebels 
attacked  our  lines  on  the  following  morning.  We  skirmished  for 
about  an  hour  and  fell  back  on  the  Nineteenth  Corps,  on  the 
Charlestown  and  Winchester  pike,  the  Third  Division  camping 
for  the  night  about  a  mile  northeast  of  Charlestown.  At  daylight 
on  the  morning  of  the  21st  the  rebels  were  on  us  again  and  we  con 
tinued  falling  back  to  our  infantry  lines  about  Harpers  Ferry. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  159 

About  1  p.  m.  Company  A  was  sent  out  on  a  scout  to  feel  the 
enemy,  and  attacked  a  rebel  patrol  when  about  two  miles  outside 
of  our  lines.  We  followed  them  a  short  distance  and  returned  to 
camp.  We  remained  in  camp  on  the  23d  and  24th  of  August  in 
comparative  quiet. 

"Early  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  August  General  Wilson's 
Third  Division  moved  out  of  camp  at  Harpers  Ferry,  struck  the 
Martinsburg  pike  two  miles  from  Shepardstown,  where  it  was 
joined  by  the  First  Division,  and  moving  four  miles  farther  out 
the  pike,  met  the  enemy  and  fought  him  two  hours,  retiring  to 
camp  with  500  prisoners.  The  rebel  loss  was  severe,  but  a  number 
of  the  Union  forces  were  also  killed  and  wounded.  George  Lee 
and  several  other  men  of  Company  A,  Third  Indiana,  were 
wounded  in  this  engagement.  Following  our  return  to  camp  we 
fortified  our  front  in  anticipation  of  an  attack  by  the  enemy,  but 
this  proved  unfounded,  and  scouts  coming  into  camp  during  the 
night  reported  that  the  rebels  were  threatening  a  raid  into  Mary 
land.  On  this  information,  at  3  a.  m.  of  the  26th  of  August,  Gen. 
Wilson's  Third  Division  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Harpers  Ferry 
and  proceeded  to  Boonesborough,  by  way  of  Sandy  Hook,  and  went 
into  camp  at  South  Mountain  Gap  near  Boonesborough  at  3  p.  m. 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  26th. 

"On  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  August,  1864,  Company  A, 
which  had  been  doing  regimental  duty  alone  since  Company  B 
had  been  detailed  to  the  Second  Brigade  headquarters,  was  ordered 
to  report  at  Gen.  James  H.  Wilson's  headquarters  for  escort  duty. 
Under  these  circumstances  both  companies  were  performing  escort 
duty,  one  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Third  Division  and  the  other 
at  the  headquarters  of  the  Second  Brigade  of  the  division.  At 
division  headquarters  I  and  eleven  others  were  detailed  as  mounted 
orderlies  for  service  there.  From  camp  at  South  Mountain  Gap 
the  division  moved  to  Sharpsburg  and  camped  north  of  that  town 
on  the  Williamsport  pike.  On  the  28th  we  recrossed  the  Potomac 


160  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

below  Shepardstown  and  reached  Charlestown  about  4  p.  m., 
where  we  went  into  camp  near  the  spot  where  John  Brown  had 
been  hung.  On  the  29th  of  August  I  was  detailed  to  accompany 
Lieutenant  Yard,  of  General  Wilson's  staff,  to  Sandy  Hook  with 
a  part  of  the  Second  JSTew  York  Cavalry,  which  was  to  be  mustered 
out  there.  We  returned  on  the  30th  and  overtook  the  division  at 
Berryville,  where  it  was  in  camp.  Berryville  is  about  ten  miles 
east  of  Winchester,  where  General  Early  was  supposed  to  have  his 
headquarters,  and  about  fifteen  miles  southwest  of  Charlestown, 
where  General  Sheridan  had  his  headquarters. 

"For  about  three  weeks  Berryville  was  the  camping  ground  for 
the  cavalry  forces  on  the  left  of  General  Sheridan's  lines.  His 
infantry  lines  extended  north  from  Berryville  to  beyond  the  Win 
chester  &  Harpers  Ferry  railroad,  while  Early' s  occupied  the  west 
bank  of  Opequan  creek,  which  was  five  miles  west  of  Berryville. 
The  First  and  Third  Divisions  of  cavalry  were  kept  actively  em 
ployed  harassing  Early ?s  flanks  and  driving  his  cavalry  back  from 
the  Potomac.  After  camping  a  few  nights  around  Berryville,  we 
realized  that  we  were  within  the  haunts  of  Mosby's  guerrilla 
bands.  Suspicious  characters  were  noticed  prowling  through  our 
camps,  and  one  of  them  was  believed  to  be  Mosby  himself.  They 
never  interfered  with  our  front,  but  confined  their  operations  to  our 
rear,  attacking  our  supply  trains  when  not  sufficiently  guarded. 
They  were  concealed  in  the  homes  of  various  residents  of  the 
country,  and  in  more  than  one  instance  our  men  were  murdered 
in  their  own  quarters  by  these  cut-throats  and  assassins.  This  was 
the  occasion  of  General  Sheridan's  order  to  sweep  the  valley  with 
fire.  On  the  morning  of  September  2  our  division  moved  out  of 
camp  to  look  after  some  of  Mosby's  men  who  had  been  interfering 
with  our  rear  along  the  pike  between  Berryville  and  Charlestown. 
We  followed  them  to  Hammonds  Ferry,  but  they  had  fled  to  their 
mountain  retreat,  and  we  returned  to  our  camps  to  find  them 
occupied  by  Early's  cavalry.  A  few  shots  from  our  advance  sent 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  161 

the  rebels  back  to  their  own  quarters,  and  we  took  possession.  We 
moved  to  Millwood  on  September  3  and  remained  over  night,  and 
when  we  returned  to  our  camp  at  Berryville  on  the  evening  of  the 
4th  we  again  found  the  rebel  cavalry  in  possession.  After  a  short 
skirmish  we  again  drove  them  out  and  took  possession  and  remained 
until  the  morning  of  the  7th,  when  we  again  moved  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Winchester. 

"At  the  crossing  of  Opequan  creek  the  Second  Brigade  met  the 
rebel  cavalry  pickets,  and  drove  them  back  to  their  infantry  within 
two  and  a  half  miles  of  Winchester,  where  a  slight  skirmish  oc 
curred  and  General  Wilson  ascertained  the  position  and  strength 
of  the  enemy.  After  this  we  drew  off,  closely  followed  by  the 
enemy's  cavalry,  until  we  reached  the  crossing  of  Opequan  creek, 
when  our  battery  stationed  there  opened  on  them  and  ended  their 
pursuit.  On  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  September  General 
Wilson  made  a  reconnoissance  with  the  First  Brigade  to  the 
crossing  of  Opequan  creek,  where  he  encountered  the  enemy's 
cavalry.  He  made  a  charge  and  captured  fifty  prisoners,  after 
which  the  Third  New  Jersey  was  brought  up  and  charged  the 
Eighth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  capturing  150  more  prisoners 
with  their  colonel  and  sixteen  line  officers.  We  then  returned  to 
camp  at  Berryville.  Early  on  Monday  morning,  September  19, 
the  Third  Division  moved  from  camp  at  Berryville  on  the  pike  in 
the  direction  of  Winchester.  At  daylight  at  Opequan  creek  we 
were  on  the  enemy's  pickets,  and  our  advance  at  once  made  an 
attack  and  drove  them  back  on  their  reserve.  The  division  was 
soon  across  the  creek  and  in  position  for  a  general  advance,  which 
was  pushed  without  delay,  driving  the  enemy  back  on  their  main 
position  on  the  elevated  ground  along  the  south  and  east  banks  of 
Abrahams  creek,  where  they  had  a  considerable  force  of  infantry 
in  line  protected  by  earthworks.  Our  rapid  advance  seemed  to 
take  them  by  surprise;  we  captured  their  earthworks  at  the  first 
dash  and  held  them  against  repeated  attempts  of  the  enemy  to 


162  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALBY. 

regain  them,  until  General  Wright  with  the  Sixth  Corps  came  up 
and  relieved  the  Third  Division  of  Cavalry. 

"At  this  point  Corp.  Reuben  Clemens  of  Company  A,  Third 
Indiana,  was  killed.  General  Mclntosh,  commanding  the  First 
Brigade,  was  wounded,  losing  a  leg;  and  General  Chapman,  com 
manding  the  Second  Brigade,  was  struck  with  a  rifle  ball  on  the 
plate  fastening  of  his  sword  belt,  making  a  considerable  indenture 
and  defacing  the  eagle  on  the  brass  plate,  but  causing  no  serious 
injury  to  the  General. 

"The  Sixth  Corps,  which  had  relieved  us,  pushed  on  and  drove 
the  rebels  we  had  been  fighting  back  on  to  Early's  main  line  two 
miles  from  Winchester  and  about  two  miles  from  where  the  pike 
crossed  the  creek.  The  course  of  Abrahams  creek  from  near  Win 
chester  bears  directly  due  east,  parallel  with  the  pike  which  runs 
north  of  it  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile,  except  at  the  point  where 
the  Third  Division  made  its  stand;  here  its  course  was  nearly 
north  for  a  short  distance,  and  then  it  resumes  its  original  course, 
flowing  into  the  Opequan  a  half  mile  or  so  below  the  crossing  of 
the  Berryville  pike,  where  we  first  ran  on  the  rebel  pickets. 

"When  we  were  relieved  from  the  front  we  moved  along  the 
south  side  of  this  creek,  which  had  a  high  bluff  bank.  From  this 
point  we  watched  the  Sixth  Corps  form  and  move  forward  amid 
a  roar  of  artillery  and  musketry.  Early  made  a  desperate  effort 
to  hold  his  position,  and  even  tried  to  break  the  center  of  the  Sixth 
Corps  line,  but  Sheridan  was  there  and  our  division  was  ordered 
to  push  the  rebel  cavalry  on  Early 's  right.  We  moved  forward 
parallel  with  Abrahams  creek  and  with  the  lines  of  the  Sixth  Corps, 
and  were  fast  swinging  around  on  to  the  valley  pike  which  was 
Early's  line  of  retreat,  while  Torbert,  with  Merritt's  and  Averill's 
cavalry,  was  pushing  back  his  left  to  the  west  of  Winchester  and 
threatening  his  rear  from  that  direction ;  thus  pushed  on  the  center 
by  the  infantry  and  both  flanks  by  the  cavalry,  Early  fell  back 
without  much  regard  to  military  organization.  Our  division  was 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  163 

ordered  to  attack  and  harass  the  left  flank  of  the  rebel  column  as 
it  hurried  out  of  Winchester  on  the  Strasburg  pike.  A  mile  out 
of  town  the  rebels  had  wheeled  two  or  three  guns  into  position  and 
were  shelling  our  cavalry  as  we  came  up,  whereupon  one  of  our 
batteries  was  ordered  up  and  took  position  within  400  yards  of  the 
rebel  guns  and  were  soon  hurling  shot  and  shell  into  them,  Com 
pany  A,  Third  Indiana,  being  ordered  to  form  up  in  our  battery's 
rear  for  support.  The  position  was  very  uncomfortable  but  the 
rebel  guns  overshot  us,  as  their  attention  was  diverted  by  the  First 
and  Second  Brigades  of  Cavalry  that  were  harassing  the  flank  of 
their  broken  column  as  it  rushed  up  the  valley  pike.  Late  in  the 
evening  the  Second  Ohio  and  the  Third  New  Jersey  Cavalry  closed 
in  on  their  rear  and  repeatedly  charged  them  to  beyond  Kerntown, 
near  which  place  the  Third  Division  went  into  camp  for  the  night, 
some  four  miles  south  of  Winchester. 

"At  daylight  on  the  morning  of  September  20th  our  Third 
Division  moved  out  on  the  Strasburg  pike  as  far  as  Newtown, 
where  we  left  the  pike  and  started  towards  Front  Royal.  We 
camped  for  the  night  half  a  mile  from  the  north  fork  of  the  Shen- 
andoah  river,  near  its  junction  with  the  South  Fork.  At  daylight 
on  the  morning  of  the  20th  we  crossed  the  North  Fork  and  arrived 
at  the  South  Fork  three  miles  from  Front  Royal,  where  we  found 
the  rebels  in  position  on  the  opposite  side  of  that  river.  The  First 
Brigade  charged  the  ford  several  times  before  effecting  a  crossing, 
after  which  the  division  crossed  over  and  drove  the  rebels  about 
four  miles  beyond  Front  Royal,  when  they  disappeared  from  our 
front.  We  camped  at  Front  Royal  for  the  night  and  on  the  22d 
moved  up  the  Luray  Valley  ten  or  twelve  miles  to  Milford,  a 
village  on  the  east  bank  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  Shenandoah, 
at  the  mouth  of  a  small  creek.  There  was  a  high  ridge  on  the 
north  bank  of  this  creek,  which  was  abrupt  where  it  extended  along 
the  river;  the  roadway  was  graded  around  the  point  of  this  ridge 
to  a  bridge  fifty  rods  or  more  up  the  creek.  Here  we  found  the 


164  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

rebels  that  had  left  our  front  the  day  before  ready  to  receive  us. 
We  skirmished  some  with  them  and  fell  back  four  miles,  camping 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  river  for  the  night,  on  the  road  leading  to 
Strasburg.  On  the  morning  of  the  23d  we  forded  the  river  and 
continued  our  march,  passing  around  the  Massanutten  Mountains, 
and  halted  about  noon  on  the  south  bank  of  the  North  Fork  of  the 
Shenandoah  river,  some  seven  miles  from  Strasburg. 

"Soon  after  halting  General  Wilson  ordered  a  detail  of  three 
orderlies  from  the  escort  to  carry  a  message  up  the  valley  of  the 

North  Fork  to  General  Sheridan.  Robert  Grey,  Ward  and 

myself  were  chosen  to  carry  this  message.  We  soon  set  out  at  a 
forced  march  gait,  our  route  being  by  way  of  Middletown  to  Stras 
burg.  On  arriving  at  Strasburg  our  infantry  there  informed  us 
that  Sheridan  was  twelve  miles  farther  up  the  valley  near  Wood 
stock.  With  a  smooth  pike,  we  pushed  on  at  a  lively  gait,  the 
twenty  miles  we  had  traveled  since  leaving  General  Wilson's  com 
mand  telling  on  the  wind  of  our  horses,  especially  Grey's  and 
mine.  Four  miles  from  Woodstock  Grey  and  I  abandoned  the 
chase,  while  Ward  continued  ahead  with  the  message.  After  rest 
ing  our  horses  Grey  and  I  returned  to  Strasburg  and  camped  for 
the  night  with  a  squad  of  infantry  and  four  cavalryman  who  be 
longed  to  our  division. 

"We  had  been  given  no  instructions  about  returning  to  our 
command  and  consequently  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  Sep 
tember  we  started  out  to  find  our  division  where  we  had  left  it, 
accompanied  by  the  four  comrades  of  our  division.  All  went  well 
until  we  arrived  at  the  place  where  we  had  left  our  command  and 
found  it  gone.  After  a  consultation  we  started  out  on  a  forced 
march,  supposing  we  could  overtake  the  command  some  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles  up  the  valley,  where  we  had  camped  on  the  night  of 
the  22d.  We  pushed  forward  at  a  rapid  gait  to  our  old  camp  and 
found  it  vacant.  We  made  inquiry  at  a  nearby  farm  house  of  a 
'Virginia  widow'  as  to  when  our  cavalry  had  passed  up  the  valley, 


HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  165 

and  she  replied  the  evening  before.  This  meant  that  we  were 
twenty  miles  or  more  in  the  rear.  We  now  came  to  a  sense  of  our 
situation.  Twenty  miles  in  the  rear  of  our  command  in  the  Luray 
Valley,  the  home  of  Mosby's  guerrillas,  was  a  serious  matter. 
After  consultation  we  decided  to  push  ahead  after  the  division  if 
we  had  to  fight.  But  our  advance  was  more  deliberate  than  it  had 
been.  We  re-primed  our  revolvers  and  carried  our  carbines  un- 
slung  across  our  saddles;  we  had  proceeded  but  a  few  hundred 
yards  when,  at  a  sharp  turn  in  the  road,  we  discovered  two  men  in 
rebel  uniform  crossing  the  road  a  few  rods  in  our  advance.  They 
had  discovered  us  about  the  same  time  and  were  making  for  some 
bushes  a  short  distance  from  the  road.  As  they  appeared  to  be 
unarmed  we  called  them  to  halt,  which  they  obeyed.  We  inter 
viewed  them  and  they  claimed  to  be  deserters  from  Early ?s  com 
mand  on  their  way  to  their  homes  somewhere  down  the  valley. 
We  wished  them  success  and  continued  our  journey.  A  half  mile 
or  so  farther  on  we  came  to  a  camp  which  our  command  had  likely 
vacated  that  morning.  Several  'plugs'  of  horses  were  feeding 
around,  and  had  no  doubt  been  abandoned ;  one  of  them  seemed  to 
me  a  better  horse  than  the  one  I  was  riding,  so  I  decided  to  ex 
change,  and  did  so.  After  which  we  were  on  the  move  again  up 
the  Front  Royal  and  Luray  pike,  but  soon  my  new  horse  gave  out 
from  a  weakness  in  his  back  and  loins  and  I  had  to  abandon  him. 
Stowing  my  saddle  and  other  effects  among  some  bushes,  I  took  to 
the  woods  and  soon  heard  shots,  from  which  I  inferred  my  five 
comrades,  who  had  left  me,  had  encountered  a  squad  of  rebels. 
After  an  all  day  and  night  march  on  foot  I  came  up  to  the  com 
mand  at  Mill  river,  where  I  was  remounted  just  as  they  were  pre 
paring  to  move  out. 

"The  five  comrades  who  left  me  when  my  horse  gave  out  were 
captured  by  the  rebels  and  taken  to  Richmond,  where  they  were 
held  until  the  close  of  the  war.  The  command  proceeded  to  ISTew 
Market  and  joined  Sheridan,  who  was  still  following  close  on 


166  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIKD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

Early 's  rear.  On  the  25th  we  left  New  Market  and  marched  to 
Harrisburg,  and  on  the  26th  went  to  Staunton,  which  is  at  the  head 
of  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  forty-five  miles  from  Gordonsville,  in 
direct  communication  with  Richmond.  On  the  27th  the  division 
saddled  up  and  moved  eleven  or  twelve  miles  to  within  a  mile  of 
Waynesborough,  where  we  went  into  camp.  The  next  morning  the 
rebels  came  down  the  mountain  and  drove  in  our  pickets.  A  severe 
skirmish  ensued,  in  which  several  of  the  orderlies  had  their  horses 
shot  from  under  them  while  carrying  dispatches.  We  fell  back 
through  Staunton  to  Spring  Hill  where,  after  a  halt,  we  fell  back 
again,  crossing  North  river  to  Bridgewater,  about  three  miles 
below  Mt.  Crawford,  and  lay  in  camp  two  days. 

"Here  on  the  30th  of  September  General  Wilson  was  relieved 
and  ordered  to  Sherman's  army  in  the  West,  and  Gen.  George  A. 
Custer  of  the  First  Brigade  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
Third  Division.  On  Sunday  morning,  October  2,  we  moved  camp 
three  miles  to  Dayton,  but  had  hardly  become  settled  until  the 
rebels  attacked  our  pickets  and  drove  them  in,  but  after  a  slight 
skirmish  we  drove  them  back  through  Bridgewater  across  North 
river,  capturing  some  prisoners.  During  the  few  days  we  re 
mained  in  this  camp  the  rebels  carried  on  a  bushwhacking  war 
fare  around  us  after  night,  and  one  night  an  officer  of  General 
Sheridan's  engineer  corps  was  shot  by  a  bushwhacker  near  Sheri 
dan's  headquarters.  He  was  captured  and  executed  the  next 
morning.  Others  were  found  secreted  about  the  dwellings  in  and 
near  the  various  camps  and  General  Sheridan,  in  order  to  terrorize 
the  inhabitants,  issued  an  order  to  burn  every  dwelling  within  five 
miles  of  Dayton.  This  looked  like  wanton  destruction,  but  was 
the  only  safeguard  to  our  lives. 

aOn  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  October  Sheridan  resumed  his 
march  down  the  valley,  taking  or  destroying  everything  that  would 
be  of  any  special  benefit  to  the  rebels.  Our  division,  the  Third, 
moved  by  the  left  flank  along  what  was  called  the  mountain  road, 


HlSTOKY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALKY.  167 

our  rear  being  hard  pressed  all  day  by  Eosser's  cavalry.  About  3 
p.  m.  they  made  a  sudden  dash  on  our  wagon  train,  capturing  two 
forges  and  several  wagons  loaded  with  refugee  families  leaving  the 
country.  The  rebels  '  showed  no  mercy  to  these  poor  wretches. 
About  dark  we  crossed  the  north  fork  of  the  Shenandoah  and 
camped  for  the  night.  The  next  day  we  moved  on,  passing  through 
Columbia  Furnace,  and  camped  three  miles  beyond  at  Narrow 
Passage  creek.  The  next  day  we  marched  back  opposite  Stras- 
burg  on  the  mountain  road  without  interruption,  but  on  October 
10th  Rosser  appeared  in  force  on  our  rear  at  Fishers  Hill.  Gen. 
Sheridan  ordered  the  First  and  Third  divisions  of  cavalry  to  wheel 
about  and  attack  him.  General  Ouster  managed  to  get  two  regi 
ments  of  his  division  in  Rosser's  rear,  where  they  charged;  the 
rebel  front  being  pressed  by  the  First  Division  they  were  soon 
stampeded,  our  cavalry  following  them  to  beyond  Woodstock,  cap 
turing  six  guns,  all  of  Rosser's  wagon  train  and  a  number  of  pris 
oners.  The  six  guns  captured  were  the  same  our  division  had 
abandoned  on  the  29th  of  June  on  the  Wilson  raid,  when  we  were 
cut  off  from  making  our  lines  at  Reams  Station  on  the  Weldon 
railroad.  On  the  evening  of  October  llth  we  fell  back  across 
Cedar  creek  and  camped  two  miles  west  of  Middletown.  Here  we 
remained  in  camp  with  no  other  interruption  than  an  occasional 
cavalry  dash,  which  was  easily  repulsed,  until  October  19.  On 
that  date  Early  made  an  attack  on  the  Eighth  Corps,  commanded 
by  General  Crook,  on  our  left  at  4  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  so 
completely  surprised  the  men  of  the  Eighth  Corps  that  the  first 
they  knew  of  the  enemy's  movements  was  when  they  were  in  their 
camps,  and  many  of  our  men  were  bayonetted  before  they  could 
get  out  of  their  tents.  So  fiercely  was  the  attack  followed  up  that 
our  center  and  right  was  soon  driven  back  on  the  reserves.  The 
rebels  pushed  on  almost  without  opposition  until  they  reached  the 
front  of  Gettey's  division  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  which  bravely  re 
ceived  the  exultant  rebels  and  checked  their  advance.  The  rebels 


168  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

pressed  forward  and  Gettey's  division  was  compelled  to  fall  back, 
although  it  maintained  a  steady  front.  Our  front  lines  were 
fleeing  to  the  rear  by  thousands;  General  Ouster  ordered  several 
cavalry  regiments  to  deploy  and  form  a  line  just  north  of  Middle- 
town  to  stop  this  stream  of  stragglers,  but  the  stragglers  were  so 
panic  stricken  that  neither  horses  nor  sabers  could  check  them, 
and  we  were  withdrawn.  About  noon  General  Torbert  was  or 
dered  to  form  the  First  and  Third  divisions  of  cavalry  on  the  left 
of  the  pike  about  a  mile  north  of  Middletown  with  Gettey's  divi 
sion  of  the  Sixth  Corps  on  the  right,  and  here  the  cavalry  was  dis 
mounted  and  took  the  front  as  infantry,  bringing  the  advancing 
rebels  to  a  stand  for  several  hours  while  the  broken  ranks  of  the 
Eighth  and  Nineteenth  Corps  were  reforming  behind  the  right 
and  rear  of  Gettey's  division. 

"While  we  held  this  position  General  Sheridan  came  up  from 
Winchester  and  at  once  began  to  strengthen  his  lines.  The  strag 
glers  returned  to  their  places  and  the  Sixth  Corps  was  ordered  up. 
When  the  rebels  made  their  next  assault  on  our  right  and  center 
they  were  repulsed  with  so  much  damage  to  the  enemy  that  Early 
drew  off  and  began  entrenching  himself.  By  4  p.  m.  Sheridan  had 
so  far  reorganized  his  routed  forces  that  an  advance  was  made 
along  our  entire  line.  The  cavalry  charged  the  flanks  of  the 
enemy  while  the  infantry  pressed  their  front;  for  a  time  the 
struggle  was  fierce,  but  the  rebels  were  soon  forced  to  abandon 
their  breastworks  and  began  to  lose  ground,  closely  followed  by 
our  troops.  General  Custer  charged  with  his  entire  division  and 
the  infantry  charged  at  the  same  time,  forcing  the  rebels  to  the 
creek,  followed  by  their  complete  rout.  General  Custer  at  the 
head  of  our  division  charged  at  the  crossing  of  the  creek,  and  there 
was  such  a  jam  of  wagons  and  artillery  caissons  that  it  was  diffi 
cult  for  the  cavalry  to  effect  a  crossing.  But  we  continued  along 
the  flank  of  the  retreating  rebels,  passing  disorganized  bodies  of 
rebel  infantry,  wagons  and  whole  batteries  which  were  left  with 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIKD  INDIANA  CAVALBY.  169 

detachments  of  provost  guards.  We  charged  through  the  ranks  of 
the  retreating  rebels,  capturing  battle  flags,  and  single  horsemen 
were  bringing  in  bands  of  rebel  stragglers.  A  rebel  battery  of 
several  guns  trying  to  escape  on  a  byroad  was  ridden  down  by  one 
man  of  the  escort,  brought  in  and  sent  to  the  rear.  It  seemed  like 
Ouster  was  bent  on  capturing  the  whole  of  Early's  army,  and  only 
darkness  put  a  stop  to  our  pursuit. 

"Such  was  the  Battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  on  the  19th  of  October, 
1864.  The  number  killed  on  each  side  was  about  the  same  for  the 
day.  We  lost  twenty  pieces  of  artillery  in  the  morning  and  about 
1,000  prisoners,  but  we  captured  2,000  in  the  afternoon,  recap 
tured  our  lost  guns  and  fifty  pieces  besides,  forty-seven  of  which 
were  taken  by  Ouster's  cavalry,  together  with  a  number  of  wagons 
and  a  large  number  of  prisoners.  That  night  we  fell  back  to  our 
old  camp  and  the  next  day  the  Third  Division  moved  along  the 
mountain  to  beyond  Fishers  Hill,  where  Ouster  halted  and  sent 
companies  in  different  directions  to  look  for  rebels,  but  they  re 
turned  without  finding  any. 

"We  moved  back  to  near  Kernstown,  where  we  went  into  camp, 
General  Ouster  making  his  headquarters  at  the  house  of  a  Mr. 
Glass.  Soon  the  rebel  cavalry  appeared  in  our  front;  but  we  did 
not  move  out  until  the  next  morning,  when  we  found  the  rebel 
cavalry  in  possession  of  both  roads  leading  up  the  valley  west  of 
the  main  pike  from  Winchester  to  Strasburg.  The  mountain  road 
was  five  miles  west  of  the  main  valley  pike,  and  leading  along  the 
foot  of  Little  North  Mountain ;  while  the  middle  road  was  between 
the  mountain  road  and  the  valley  pike.  The  Second  Brigade, 
under  General  Chapman,  moved  up  the  middle  road,  while  Gen. 
Ouster  with  the  First  Brigade,  under  Colonel  Bryan,  with  his 
escort  marched  along  the  mountain  road.  Sharp  skirmishing  en 
sued  as  the  First  Brigade  advanced,  but  by  a  charge  of  our  men  the 
rebels  were  forced  back  in  disorder,  and  Custer  followed  them 
up  so  closely  that  they  did  not  make  a  stand,  being  driven  five 


170  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

miles  to  the  crossing  of  Cedar  creek.  We  fell  back  to  Mount  Zion 
Church  and  General  Custer  sent  Lieut.  Gilbert  of  the  escort  with 
four  orderlies  to  communicate  with  General  Chapman  of  the  First 
Brigade.  We  struck  the  middle  road  just  as  the  Second  Brigade 
was  falling  back  on  the  reserve.  A  few  minutes  later  the  rebel 
advance  charged  down  on  us,  but  were  met  by  the  guard  and 
driven  back  only  to  return  with  a  much  larger  force,  which  com 
pelled  our  rear  guard,  the  First  New  Hampshire,  to  skedaddle  at 
a  lively  pace.  I  and  J.  Y.  Storm  were  separated  from  Lieutenant 
Gilbert  and  the  other  two  orderlies,  but  by  spurring  up  our  horses 
we  soon  overtook  our  command  on  the  mountain  road.  General 
Chapman  left  the  rebels  in  possession  of  the  middle  road  but  next 
morning  started  out  in  the  same  order  to  finish  the  undertaking  of 
the  day  before,  meeting  with  about  the  same  success.  The  Second 
Brigade  was  for  a  time  cut  off  from  the  First,  but  General  Custer 
having  cleared  the  mountain  road  turned  to  the  assistance  of 
Chapman  with  his  Second  Brigade;  the  rebels  were  soon  driven 
beyond  Cedar  creek  and  the  division  returned  to  its  camp.  General 
Wright  with  his  Sixth  Corps  and  two  other  divisions  of  infantry 
were  withdrawn  from  the  valley,  and  Sheridan  with  the  rest  of  his 
command  fell  back  to  Winchester  for  the  winter.  The  right  of  his 
line  resting  on  Little  Mountain  was  occupied  by  the  Third  Divi 
sion  of  Cavalry  under  General  Custer,  with  headquarters  at 
Robert  Glass7  residence,  four  and  a  half  miles  southwest  of  Win 
chester  on  the  Little  North  Mountain  road. 

"Sheridan's  forces  remained  in  this  position  until  the  27th  of 
February,  1865,  when  under  orders  from  General  Grant  he  moved 
up  the  valley.  General  Devin  with  the  First  Division  took  the 
advance  and  Custer  with  the  Third  the  rear ;  crossing  Cedar  creek, 
we  passed  through  Strasburg  and  reached  Woodstock,  where  we 
camped  the  first  night  of  the  march.  On  the  28th  the  Third 
Division  had  the  advance,  and  not  far  from  Edenburg  our  advance 
guard  was  fired  on  by  Rosser's  rebel  cavalry.  The  rebels  fell  back, 


HlSTOBY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALKY.  17 1 

leaving  five  of  their  number  prisoners.  We  reached  Mt.  Jackson 
about  noon,  and  while  our  wagon  train  was  crossing  Mill  creek,  a 
stream  just  beyond  the  town,  it  was  attacked  by  rebel  cavalry. 
They  were  again  dispersed  and  five  of  them  captured.  On  this 
day  in  fording  the  Shenandoah  at  Mains  Bottom  three  of  our  men 
and  two  horses  were  drowned.  We  continued  on  to  Lacys  Spring, 
where  the  division  halted  and  went  into  camp.  A  squad  of  rebels 
charged  our  pickets  but  retreated  with  more  spirit  than  they  came, 
several  of  them  being  captured,  some  of  whom  were  in  our  uni 
form.  On  March  1  we  moved  at  5  a.  m.,  the  Third  Division 
in  the  rear.  We  passed  through  Harrisburg,  crossed  North  river 
at  Mt.  Crawford.  At  Mt.  Sindner  the  First  Division  encountered 
Rosser's  cavalry,  which  was  routed  after  a  sharp  skirmish,  fol 
lowed  by  a  running  fight  for  four  miles  to  the  bridge  across  Middle 
river.  They  attempted  to  burn  the  bridge  but  failed.  Here  we 
camped  for  the  night  in  the  rain.  On  the  2d  of  March  the  Third 
Division  took  the  lead,  passed  through  Staunton;  from  there  the 
head  of  the  column  taking  the  pike  leading  to  Waynesborough  on 
the  Gordonville  railroad.  That  town  the  rebels  had  evacuated, 
leaving  nothing  but  a  few  barrels  of  applejack,  which  our  experts 
located  in  a  few  minutes  after  we  had  halted.  At  Fisherville  our 
advance  encountered  the  rebel  pickets.  General  Ouster  sent  word 
back  to  General  Merritt,  chief  of  cavalry,  and  in  the  meantime 
drove  the  rebel  pickets  back  on  their  main  force  at  Waynesborough. 
Here  Early  had  entrenched. 

"Waynesborough  was  located  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  di 
rectly  in  front  of  Rockfish  Gap,  through  which  the  railroad  passed. 
Ouster  took  in  the  situation  at  once  and  prepared  to  attack.  Two 
regiments  of  dismounted  men  were  stationed  on  our  left  to  attack 
the  enemy's  right  flank,  two  regiments  mounted  were  sent  to  our 
right  to  charge  the  enemy's  left,  while  the  rest  of  the  division  with 
Battery  M,  Second  U.  S.  Artillery,  formed  the  center.  Battery 
M  turned  loose  her  guns  and  at  the  same  time  the  Third  Division 


172  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

went  pellmell,  every  man  for  himself,  shooting  and  yelling,  Ouster 
leading.  Both  flanks  of  the  enemy  were  turned  and  our  men  were 
in  the  rebel  rear  before  they  knew  how  it  was  done.  They  made 
a  desperate  resistance,  but  Ouster's  charge  on  the  center  broke  their 
lines,  which  caused  a  panic.  Ouster  charged  through  their  broken 
ranks  and  charged  their  wagon  train  in  the  rear,  where  we  found 
the  greatest  confusion.  The  teams  had  been  abandoned;  not  a 
driver  in  sight;  mules  and  wagons,  horses  and  ambulances  aban 
doned  to  their  fate.  The  result  of  the  fight  was  1,500  prisoners, 
twelve  pieces  of  artillery  with  caissons  and  horses,  150  wagons 
with  teams,  loaded  with  supplies,  fifty  ambulances  with  teams,  sev 
enteen  battle  flags,  together  with  General  Crook's  battle  flag  which 
had  been  captured  at  Cedar  Creek  on  the  19th  of  October,  1864. 
The  Third  Division  moved  through  the  gap  and  went  into  camp 
for  the  night  on  the  east  side  of  the  Blue  Ridge. 

"On  March  3  we  moved  along  the  Gordonsville  railroad  to  Char- 
lottesville,  destroying  the  track  as  we  went.  We  burned  Mechams 
Station  and  a  building  filled  with  rebel  stores  there,  and  the  rail 
road  bridge  nearby  across  the  Ravenna  river.  We  also  destroyed 
the  depot  and  a  lot  of  supplies  at  Woodville,  and  went  on  to  Char- 
lottesville.  We  remained  there  until  the  6th  of  March,  when  we 
moved  south  along  the  railroad  towards  Lynchburg.  Twelve  of 
us  forming  the  escort  and  a  squad  of  fifteen  or  twenty  scouts 
formed  the  advance ;  we  saw  no  rebels  all  day  until  we  struck  the 
bridge  at  Rockfish  river,  which  was  guarded  by  rebels.  They  saw 
us  first  and  fled  as  we  charged  them.  We  burned  the  bridge  and 
stationhouse  there,  and  returned  to  division  headquarters  back  a 
mile  from  the  bridge. 

"At  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  March  we  forded 
Rockfish  river  two  miles  above  the  bridge,  marched  to  Lovington 
and  destroyed  the  railroad  and  rebel  stores  there.  The  Third 
Division  proceeded  from  Lovington  to  New  Glasgow  depot,  three 
miles  north  of  Amherst  Court  House,  went  into  camp,  details 


HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  173 

being  sent  out  in  every  direction  for  horsefeed  and  other  sup 
plies.  On  the  8th  of  March  we  left  the  railroad,  taking  a  north 
east  course,  striking  the  James  river  at  New  Market  some  thirty 
miles  below  Lynchburg.  We  went  into  camp  two  miles  below  New 
Market  on  the  James  river,  and  at  6  o'clock  next  morning  our 
division  was  on  its  way  to  Richmond  down  the  river,  as  we  had  no 
means  of  crossing.  We  marched  down  the  river  road  to  War- 
minster,  where  we  took  the  canal  towpath,  crossed  Rockfish  river 
at  the  canal  aqueduct  at  Mozartsville,  thence  along  the  canal  to 
Scottsville  and  went  into  camp.  The  next  day  we  marched  out  the 
Richmond  road  by  way  of  Vinnsville  and  Fluvanna  Institute, 
striking  the  James  again  at  the  mouth  of  Ravenna  river,  which  we 
crossed  to  Columbia  on  the  canal  aqueduct,  going  into  camp  a 
mile  from  town.  On  Sunday  morning  March  12  we  left  Colum 
bia  and  moved  out  on  the  Richmond  road  six  miles,  changing  our 
course  nearly  due  north  on  a  road  leading  to  Fredricks  Hall  Sta 
tion  on  the  Virginia  Central  railroad,  twenty-five  miles  east  of 
Gordonsville.  On  arriving  at  Thompsons  Cross  Roads  about  8 
p.  m.  we  learned  that  General  Early  and  a  body  of  cavalry  had 
passed  through  a  few  minutes  ahead  of  us.  A  squad  was  sent  in 
pursuit,  but  he  had  disappeared  towards  Richmond.  We  crossed  the 
South  Anna  river  at  Anderson  about  a  mile  from  the  cross  roads 
and  a  detail  was  sent  out  to  capture  horses;  they  returned  with 
seven  or  eight.  We  arrived  at  Fredricks  Hall  about  dark  and  went 
into  camp.  On  the  14th  we  left  Fredricks  Hall  and  again  struck 
the  South  Anna  at  the  crossing  of  Kilpatrick  and  Sheridan  roads, 
where  we  again  came  in  sight  of  General  Early,  and  one  of  Gen. 
Custer's  staff  came  near  running  him  down  and  taking  him  pris 
oner.  On  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  March  we  moved  to  Ash 
land,  where  we  found  the  enemy  in  force,  and  a  sharp  skirmish 
took  place,  in  which  several  were  killed  on  both  sides.  Among  the 
killed  were  two  or  three  officers,  and  among  the  prisoners  was  the 
adjutant  of  the  Fifteenth  Virginia.  We  fell  back  along  the  rail- 


174  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

road  to  the  South  Anna  and  crossed  again  to  the  north  side  near 
the  railroad  bridge,  continuing  to  Noels  Station  on  the  Virginia 
Central.  Leaving  here  we  proceeded  to  Jerico  Ford,  crossed  the 
North  Anna  to  the  north  side  and  went  to  Chesterfield  Station  on 
the  Fredricksburg  road,  going  into  camp  there.  On  March  16  we 
left  Chesterfield  Station  and  went  to  White  House  Landing,  where 
we  communicated  with  General  Grant  and  received  supplies. 

"On  the  evening  of  the  19th  of  March  we  went  out  reconnoiter- 
ing  and  foraging,  among  them  several  boys  from  Company  A  at 
division  headquarters  and  some  from  Company  B,  Second  Brigade 
headquarters.  They  were  surprised  when  near  Baltimore  Cross 
Roads  by  a  squad  of  rebels  and  eight  or  ten  of  them  captured,  one 
from  Company  A  and  two  from  Company  B.  We  left  White 
House  Landing  on  the  25th  of  March  and  crossed  the  Chicka- 
hominy  on  pontoons  where  Jones  Bridge  had  been,  marching 
through  Charles  City  Court  House  to  Harrisons  Landing  on  the 
James  river.  As  we  lay  there  on  the  morning  of  the  26th  a  dis 
patch  boat  with  President  Lincoln  and  General  Grant  on  board 
steamed  up  to  the  landing.  From  here  we  went  up  the  river  fif 
teen  miles  to  Deep  Bottom,  where  our  pontoons  spanned  James 
river  to  Jones  Landing,  and  we  crossed  over,  going  into  camp 
below  the  landing.  On  March  27th  we  crossed  the  Appomattox 
river  seven  miles  above  City  Point.  We  moved  around  in  front 
of  Petersburg  and  went  into  camp  near  Fort  Magruder.  We  lay 
in  camp  here  a  day,  during  which  time  muster  rolls  were  made  out 
at  Company  A's  headquarters;  eight  men  of  Company  B,  whose 
time  had  expired,  were  mustered  out  and  permitted  to  go  home. 

"On  March  29  Grant's  army  was  in  motion,  only  a  sufficient 
force  being  left  behind  to  man  the  lines  around  City  Point  and 
Petersburg.  The  cavalry  moved  out  at  10  a.  m.  along  the  Jerusa 
lem  road,  crossed  the  Weldon  railroad  at  Reams  Station,  went 
towards  Dinwiddie  Court  House,  crossed  Rowanty  creek  at  Monks 
Neck  Bridge,  stopped  for  our  wagon  train,  stood .  saddled  all  night 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  175 

in  a  pouring  rain  which  continued  through  most  of  next  day.  We 
went  into  camp  on  the  night  of  the  30th,  unsaddled  and  supposed 
we  would  get  some  sleep,  but  at  10  o'clock  at  night  picket  firing 
on  our  left  caused  us  to  be  routed  out,  and  we  remained  saddled 
up  the  remainder  of  the  night.  About  noon  of  the  31st  the  Third 
Division  was  ordered  to  the  front,  and  moved  to  about  two  miles 
south  of  Dinwiddie  tCourt  House  and  went  into  camp.  Devin 
with  his  First  Division  of  Cavalry  had  attacked  the  rebels  in  the 
morning  and  fought  them  all  forenoon,  but  made  little  headway. 
At  8  p.  m.  Custer  with  the  Third  Division  went  to  his  assistance, 
when  the  rebels  gave  way  and  fell  back  to  near  Five  Forks,  closely 
followed  by  both  divisions.  There  the  rebels,  backed  by  a  heavy 
force  of  infantry,  made  a  stand,  and  Sheridan  in  turn  was  forced 
to  give  way,  but  all  his  available  force  was  dismounted  and  de 
ployed  on  the  skirmish  line,  as  he  fell  back,  and  a  courier  was  sent 
back  for  reinforcements.  The  rebels  followed  closely  with  both 
cavalry  and  infantry,  but  we  fell  back  in  good  order  until  Custer 
found  a  good  position,  where  he  halted  and  entrenched,  with  de 
fenses  made  of  whatever  we  could  lay  our  hands  on.  The  rebels 
came  on  but  we  brought  them  to  a  stand,  and  held  them  until  their 
infantry  turned  our  right  flank  and  compelled  the  Third  Division 
to  fall  back.  General  Custer  was  conspicuous  along  the  line  and 
his  private  orderly  was  killed.  Darkness  put  a  stop  to  this  fight 
and  both  sides  rested  where  they  were  fighting  when  darkness 
came  on.  On  the  morning  of  April  1  the  First  and  Third  Divis 
ions  of  Cavalry  were  reinforced  by  McKenzie's  cavalry  and  then 
Ayres'  division  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  and  the  fighting  became  fiercer 
than  ever.  The  rebels  showed  signs  of  weakening  and  Sheridan 
pressed  them  harder  than  ever,  Custer  taking  every  occasion  to 
charge  their  rear  with  the  Third  Division.  Custer  led  two  of  these 
charges  in  person.  With  drawn  saber  he  dashed  to  the  front, 
shouting,  'Now,  boys,  for  your  thirty  days'  furlough/  and  in  they 
went.  On  leaving  Winchester  Custer  had  issued  a  special  order 


176  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALBY. 

promising  a  thirty-day  furlough  to  each  man  who  captured  a  rebel 
battle  flag.  With  the  aid  of  Griffith's  division  Sheridan  was  en 
abled  to  drive  the  enemy  within  their  entrenchments  at  Five 
Forks.  The  Fifth  Corps  was  not  in  position  until  near  dark,  yet 
Sheridan  ordered  a  forward  movement  along  the  entire  line;  the 
fighting  began  and  for  a  time  the  contest  was  fierce  and  bloody; 
in  the  darkness  the  blaze  of  incessant  musketry  and  the  flash  of 
artillery  lighted  up  the  surroundings  of  the  battle  with  an  awful 
glare.  When  the  final  assault  was  made  our  men  scaled  the 
earthworks  of  the  enemy  and  a  hand-to-hand  struggle  raged  for  a 
brief  time  only,  for  the  rebels  broke  and  gave  way,  leaving  in  our 
hands  a  portion  of  their  artillery,  a  quantity  of  ammunition  and 
about  six  thousand  prisoners.  Our  cavalry  pursued  the  routed 
rebels  until  9  o'clock,  and  returned  to  Five  Forks  and  camped  for 
the  night. 

"The  morning  of  the  2d  of  April  we  moved  to  Fords  Inn  on  the 
South  Side  railroad  and  destroyed  several  miles  of  track.  Here 
we  encountered  the  rebel  cavalry,  which  we  drove  back  to  Appo- 
mattox.  The  Third  Division  took  the  advance  on  the  morning  of 
the  3d,  and  at  Namozine  Creek  ran  on  to  an  artillery  caisson  which 
had  been  filled  with  ammunition  and  left  in  the  road  with  a  fuse 
attached.  It  exploded,  killing  two  officers  of  the  Eighth  New 
York  Cavalry.  At  the  crossing  of  Namozine  creek  our  passage 
was  disputed  by  the  rebels  in  considerable  force,  behind  breast 
works.  Custer  at  once  ordered  up  his  batteries  and  after  a  few 
shells  had  been  thrown  into  them  they  retreated,  followed  by  Cus 
ter  for  six  miles.  We  captured  350  prisoners  in  this  fight,  includ 
ing  eight  officers.  We  continued  the  pursuit  all  the  afternoon, 
taking  a  number  of  prisoners  and  halting  a  short  distance  from 
Mannsborough  for  the  night.  During  the  day  the  Third  Division 
had  captured  about  600  prisoners.  On  the  4th  the  Third  Division 
crossed  Deep  creek  and  went  into  camp  two  miles  from  Devils 
Bridge,  but  early  in  the  night  we  were  ordered  out  and  found  we 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  177 

were  going  to  endeavor  to  make  a  flank  movement  and  get  in 
Lee's  front.  We  countermarched  south  four  miles  and  reached 
Jettersville  Station,  on  the  Danville  railroad,  at  daylight  on  the 
morning  of  the  5th  of  April.  The  Fifth  and  Second  Corps  were 
already  there.  We  moved  to  the  extreme  left  of  the  Fifth  Corps. 
Lee's  headquarters  were  at  Amelia  Court  House  in  our  front. 

"At  an  early  hour  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  of  April  the  Sec 
ond  Brigade  of  the  Third  Division  was  sent  out  on  a  reconnois- 
sance  in  the  direction  of  Amelia  Court  House,  and  Lieutenant 
Christenden  of  Custer's  staff  and  ten  men  of  the  escort  went  along. 
We  arrived  at  Amelia  Court  House  at  10  p.  m.  and  found  the 
place  evacuated.  Lee  had  moved  north  by  way  of  Paynes  Cross 
Roads  and  Deatonville.  Corporal  Lon  Ward  was  detailed  to  carry 
a  message  back  to  division  headquarters  and  I  was  detailed  to 
accompany  him.  Arriving  at  Jettersville  we  learned  that  the 
cavalry  had  left  there,  moving  in  the  direction  of  Farmville.  Late 
in  the  evening  we  came  up  with  the  Third  Division  headquarters 
at  Harper's  farm,  which  had  been  the  battlefield  of  Sailors  Creek. 
Our  advance,  which  moved  to  the  right  during  the  forepart  of  the 
day,  struck  the  rebel  column  shortly  after  noon  a  few  miles  south 
of  Deatonville,  moving  southwest  on  the  road  to  Rices  Station. 
Here  a  portion  of  the  command  was  ordered  to  attack  and  harass 
the  enemy's  flank,  while  the  First  and  Second  Divisions  moved 
rapidly  south,  endeavoring  to  reach  the  head  of  the  retreating 
column  and  cut  it  off.  About  4  p.  m.  Devin  with  the  First  Divis 
ion  succeeded  in  intercepting  them  at  Harper's  farm,  just  south 
of  Sailors  creek.  By  a  sudden  attack  the  road  was  gained  and  a 
stubborn  fight  followed.  Custer  was  soon  up  with  the  Third  Di 
vision  and  a  general  attack  was  made  on  their  front  and  flank,  and 
the  enemy  was  compelled  to  make  a  stand.  This  attack  compelled 
the  rebel  column  to  head  further  west  on  the  road  leading  south 
to  the  High  Bridge  and  Farmville.  Swell's  corps  was  cut  off  from 
Lee's  army  and  intercepted  in  his  front  by  our  cavalry,  which  held 


178  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY, 

him  at  bay  until  Wright's  Sixth  Corps  came  up  and  attacked  him 
on  his  left  and  rear.  As  soon  as  our  artillery  could  be  gotten  up 
and  into  position  on  the  elevated  ground  east  of  the  creek  our  lines 
pushed  forward  on  all  sides.  Here  ensued  one  of  the  most  des 
perate  struggles  of  the  war.  The  rebels,  famished  by  hunger  and 
cut  off  and  fatigued  on  the  eve  of  reaching  their  provision  train, 
fought  with  desperation  and  our  men,  determined  to  end  matters, 
were  no  less  desperate.  With  the  Sixth  Corps  moving  forward 
on  their  rear,  Crook  and  Devin  pressing  them  back  in  front  and 
Custer  charging  their  left  flank,  made  the  rebel  situation  des 
perate.  They  made  a  mighty  effort  to  hold  our  forces  off  while 
their  artillery  were  trying  to  escape  on  their  right  through  the 
fields  and  across  the  country.  But  with  our  batteries  belching 
shot  and  shell,  the  rebel  ranks  soon  became  confused,  and  our  cav 
alry  taking  advantage  of  these  conditions  to  charge  them  brought 
off  regiments  and  brigades  as  prisoners,  and  captured  wagon  trains 
and  batteries  until  one  corps  of  Lee's  army  was  practically  elimi 
nated.  Night  put  an  end  to  the  pursuit,  and  the  Third  Division 
headquarters  camped  on  the  battlefield.  The  Third  Division  in 
the  battle  captured  4,000  prisoners,  including  four  generals,  be 
sides  fourteen  pieces  of  artillery,  thirty  stands  of  colors  and 
several  hundred  wagons. 

"On  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  April  the  cavalry  moved  out, 
Devin's  First  Division  in  advance,  followed  by  Custer's  Third  and 
the  Fifth  Corps  of  infantry.  We  crossed  the  South  Side  rail 
road  seven  miles  west  of  the  Junction  and  proceeded  to  Prince 
Edwards  Court  House.  From  there  the  Sixth  Corps  and  the 
cavalry  went  west  to  Farmville  to  intercept  Lee  and  prevent  him 
from  receiving  supplies  at  that  point.  When  the  Third  Division 
moved,  Captain  Lee,  the  division  provost  marshal  of  Custer's 
staff,  with  a  guard  from  the  escort  in  charge  of  the  four  generals 
captured  the  evening  before,  remained  in  camp  until  our  prisoners 
could  be  turned  over  to  the  corps  provost  marshal,  when  we  fol- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  179 

lowed  up  and  overtook  the  division  at  Prince  Edwards  Court 
House.  From  there  we  moved  west  and  camped  for  the  night  on 
Buffalo  river. 

aOn  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  April  the  Third  Division  took 
the  advance  and  struck  the  Lynchburg  railroad  at  Prospect  Sta 
tion,  ten  miles  west  of  Farmville,  crossed  over  and  followed  the 
north  side  of  the  railroad  to  beyond  Evergreen  Station  and  then 
crossed  back  to  the  south  side  some  five  miles  from  Appomattox 
Station.  At  4  p.  m.  Custer,  with  the  Third  Division,  was  ordered 
to  make  a  forced  march  to  Appomattox  Station  to  cut  off  Lee's 
supply  train  at  that  point.  Custer  led  off  at  the  head  of  the 
division.  We  reached  the  station  about  dark  and  Custer  charged 
the  depot  with  the  escort.  The  small  body  of  rebel  cavalry  there 
fled  in  confusion  at  the  first  discharge  of  our  revolvers.  Four 
trains  loaded  with  provisions  for  Lee's  army  were  there,  and 
Captain  Lee,  division  provost  marshal,  took  charge  of  them, 
while  Custer  followed  the  retreating  rebel  cavalry.  He  drove 
them  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  the  direction  of  Appomattox, 
where  a  strong  force  of  Lee's  advance  was  met,  which  drove  us 
back. 

"In  the  meantime  the  division  had  come  up  and  hastily  formed 
in  a  strip  of  timber  a  quarter  of  a  mile  back  of  the  station.  Lee's 
advance  came  dashing  down  the  road,  but  were  soon  brought  to  a 
stand  by  a  volley  from  the  division  already  in  line.  But  they  soon 
rallied  and  came  again  in  such  force  that  we  could  hardly  check 
them,  but,  the  division  now  all  being  up,  the  engagement  became 
general  and  more  aggressive  on  our  part.  For  a  time  the  fighting 
was  furious.  The  rebels  brought  up  their  artillery,  and  the 
whistling  shells,  the  rattle  of  carbines  and  the  screech  of  locomo 
tives  seemed  like  pandemonium.  At  this  point  Custer  made  a 
final  charge  with  his  entire  force,  and  the  rebel  lines  were  broken 
and  driven  back  some  distance,  when  nightfall  came  on  and  our 
division  bivouacked  on  the  line.  The  First  Division  came  up 


180  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

during  the  night  and  were  in  position  for  the  battle  of  the  next 
day,  as  we  knew  Lee  would  be  on  us  the  next  morning.  During  this 
fight  we  captured  thirty  pieces  of  artillery,  1,000  prisoners  and 
100  wagons. 

"At  8  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  April  9  the  First  Division  of 
Cavalry  confronted  Lee's  skirmishers,  and  his  whole  force  of  in 
fantry  was  advancing,  but  the  Fifth  Corps  had  arrived  during  the 
night  and  it  soon  came  to  the  rescue  of  the  cavalry.  The  rebels 
soon  came  to  a  stand.  Custer  had  been  ordered  to  the  right  of  the 
Fifth  Corps,  where  the  enemy  appeared  to  be  concentrating. 
Their  batteries  had  been  placed  in  position  and  shells  were  falling 
among  us  at  a  lively  rate.  As  soon  as  the  Third  Division  of  Cav 
alry  had  taken  position  on  the  right  of  the  Fifth  Corps  that  corps 
charged  the  enemy's  front  and  drove  them  back,  and  at  the  same 
time  Custer  charged  their  left,  completing  the  rout,  until  we 
reached  the  crest  of  Glover  Hill,  from  which  elevation  we  could  see 
the  Appomattox  Court  House,  with  the  rebel  camps  about  and 
Lee's  headquarters  a  short  distance  beyond.  In  a  moment  more 
we  would  have  been  dashing  down  on  the  rebel  commander,  but  a 
signal  was  hoisted  and  Custer  came  to  a  halt.  One  of  Lee's  staff 
approached  with  a  white  flag,  requesting  a  suspension  of  hostilities 
until  a  surrender  could  be  effected  by  the  proper  officers.  Custer 
at  once  dispatched  one  of  his  staff  to  General  Sheridan  and  Sheri 
dan  reported  to  Grant.  Some  of  us  thought  it  was  a  scheme  to  gain 
time,  but  news  of  the  white  flag  spread  throughout  the  army,  and 
the  hills  and  valleys  around  Appomattox  rang  with  cheers  from 
the  Yanks  and  many  of  the  rebels  joined  in  the  chorus.  Grant 
soon  came  up  and  proceeded  to  the  house  of  a  Mr.  McLain,  where 
Lee  had  his  headquarters,  and  Sheridan's  command  went  into 
camp  where  they  had  stopped  fighting.  On  the  next  day  Custer 
took  charge  of  the  cavalry  corps  and  we  marched  to  Prospect  Sta 
tion,  where  we  met  our  wagon  train  with  supplies. 


HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIED  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  181 

"On  the  llth  we  left  Prospect  Station  and  marched  to  Burks- 
ville  Junction,  where  we  arrived  on  the  12th  of  April.  Here  we 
found  a  good  portion  of  the  infantry  and  as  we  rode  by  their  camp 
they  cheered  the  heroes  of  Appomattox.  We  camped  three  miles 
south  of  the  Junction  and  on  the  13th  moved  to  Nottoway,  the  next 
station  south  of  Burksville  Junction,  where  we  remained  until  the 
17th,  then  moved  to  near  Petersburg,  and  on  the  24th  of  April 
started  with  the  cavalry  corps  to  join  Sherman's  army  in  North 
Carolina. 

"On  the  28th  of  April,  when  we  reached  South  Boston,  five 
miles  south  of  Dan  river,  Sheridan  received  word  that  Johnson 
had  surrendered  to  Sherman,  and  the  next  morning  we  started 
back  to  Petersburg,  striking  the  Lynchburg  railroad  at  White  and 
Blacks  Station  and  following  the  line  of  the  road  to  Petersburg, 
where  we  arrived  on  the  3d  of  May  and  went  into  camp.  On  the 
5th  of  May  Sherman's  army  reached  Petersburg  and  kept  passing 
until  we  moved  out  on  the  morning  of  May  10  for  Washington 
on  the  Richmond  pike.  There  we  took  part  in  the  grand  review; 
after  which  Sheridan  and  Custer  left  us  for  Texas,  and  Captain 
Gilbert,  of  Company  B,  was  in  charge  of  the  detachment  of  the 
Third  Indiana.  We  were  first  ordered  to  North  Carolina  to  join 
the  Eighth  Indiana  Cavalry  and  then  we  were  ordered  to  report  to 
Louisville,  Ky.,  for  which  we  started  on  June  11,  reaching  there 
on  the  13th.  Two  weeks  later  we  were  ordered  to  Indianapolis, 
where  we  received  our  discharge  papers  on  the  7th  day  of  August, 
1865." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  wide  separation  of  the  two  wings  of  the  Third  Indiana 
Cavalry,  in  their  respective  fields  of  operations,  made  them  ap 
parently  independent  of  each  other,  but  officers  were  commis 
sioned  and  promoted  as  though  the  two  battalions  were  operating 
together. 

Col.  Scott  Carter,  with  the  Eastern  wing,  resigned  on  the  llth 
of  March,  1863,  and  on  the  following  day  Lieut.-Col.  George  H. 
Chapman  was  made  colonel.  On  the  15th  of  March,  1863,  Maj. 
Robert  Klein,  with  the  Western  battalion,  was  made  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  regiment.  On  the  25th  of  October,  1862,  Capt. 
William  S.  McClure,  of  Company  E,  was  made  major.  On  the 
12th  of  March,  1863,  Capt.  Charles  Lemon,  of  Company  C,  was 
made  major;  and  on  the  29th  of  May,  1863,  Capt.  William  Pat- 
ton,  of  Company  A,  was  made  major,  Major  McClure  having  re 
signed  to  become  colonel  of  the  Ninth  Cavalry. 

During  this  time  there  were  also  numerous  changes  in  the  com 
pany  officers  of  both  battalions  of  the  regiment.  Charles  W.  Lee, 
who  went  out  with  Company  A  as  a  sergeant,  first  became  second, 
then  first  lieutenant,  and  then  captain  of  that  company,  on  the 
5th  of  August,  1863,  Lieutenant  Porter,  of  that  company,  having 
left  the  service  on  the  20th  of  December,  1863.  Benjamin  Q. 
Gresham,  of  Company  B,  who  had  been  a  lieutenant  of  that  com 
pany,  became  its  captain  on  the  resignation  of  Capt.  James  D. 
Irvin  on  May  22,  1862 ;  was  then  promoted  to  major  and  later 
resigned  to  become  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Tenth  Indiana  Cav 
alry.  Marshall  Lahue  as  first  lieutenant  of  Company  B  com 
manded  that  company  until  it  was  mustered  out  of  service.  Lieut. 
Ephraim  Martin,  of  Company  C,  was  made  captain  of  that  com- 

182 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  183 

pany  on  the  9th  of  May,  1863,  Major  Lemon  having  been  pro 
moted  and  Lieut.  Paul  Clark  having  resigned  on  the  20th  of  June, 
1862.  William  W.  Long  was  made  first  lieutenant  of  that  com 
pany  August  5, 1863.  Isaac  E.  Gilbert  became  a  second  lieutenant 
of  Company  C  on  June  8,  1863,  and  George  Rogers  was  made 
second  lieutenant  of  the  company  January  1,  1864.  Daniel  B. 
Keister  went  to  the  field  as  captain  of  Company  B,  but  resigned 
July  1,  1862.  Lieut.  Mathew  B.  Mason  became  his  successor  and 
resigned  October  3,  1862.  Henry  F.  Wright  followed  as  captain 
and  resigned  March  3,  1863,  and  Lieut.  John  D.  R.  Spencer  be 
came  captain  August  5,  1863,  going  from  second  and  then  first 
lieutenant,  and  remained  with  the  company  as  its  captain  until 
the  close  of  its  service.  James  A.  Kelsey  was  first  and  James 
Calhoun  was  second  lieutenant  of  this  company  at  the  date  of  its 
muster  out  of  service. 

George  H.  Thompson  became  captain  of  Company  E  on  the 
promotion  of  Major  McClure,  January  5,  1863,  and  subsequently 
was  promoted  to  major.  The  officers  of  Company  E  at  the  date 
of  its  muster  out  of  service  were  George  M.  Gilchrist,  captain; 
Abner  L.  Shannon,  first,  and  John  P.  Mathews,  second  lieutenant. 

Thomas  W.  Moffitt,  who  was  made  captain  of  Company  F, 
December  30,  1862,  was  discharged  with  the  company  as  its  cap 
tain,  and  Louis  C.  Wilson  and  William  Cotton  were  the  first  and 
second  lieutenants,  respectively.  Felix  W.  Graham,  of  Company 
G,  resigned  April  9,  1862,  to  become  colonel  of  the  Fifth  Indiana 
Cavalry.  George  F.  Herriott,  who  became  his  successor,  May  17, 
1862,  resigned  to  become  major  of  the  Fifth  Cavalry;  and 
William  J.  Lucas,  who  was  second,  then  first  lieutenant,  became 
captain  of  the  company  and  continued  with  it  until  the  date  of 
its  muster  out  of  service.  At  that  date  Daniel  Callahan  was  first 
lieutenant  and  the  company  had  no  second  lieutenant. 

Alfred  Gaddis,  who  took  Company  H  to  the  field  as  its  captain, 
became  major  of  the  Western  battalion,  June  30,  1864,  and  Uriah 


184  HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALBY. 

Young  became  his  successor  and  was  mustered  out  with  the  com 
pany  at  the  close  of  its  term  of  service.  First  Lieut.  Joseph  M. 
Douglas  resigned  May  2,  1862.  Robert  P.  Shanklin,  who  was 
made  second  lieutenant  May  26,  1862,  became  first  lieutenant 
July  10,  1864,  and  Daniel  White  was  made  second  lieutenant  of 
the  company  on  the  same  date;  and  these  two  officers  were  also 
with  the  company  at  the  date  of  its  muster  out  of  service.  As  we 
have  seen,  all  the  original  %  officers  of  Company  I  resigned  in  a 
body,  January  25,  1862,  and  at  the  date  of  that  company's  muster 
out  of  the  service  Charles  Hedrick,  who  had  been  second  and  then 
first  lieutenant,  was  captain  of  the  company,  and  Thomas  B. 
Wilkinson  first  lieutenant,  the  company  having  no  second  lieu 
tenant. 

When  Capt.  Robert  Klein,  of  Company  K,  was  promoted  to 
major,  Charles  Qualman,  who  had  first  been  a  sergeant  in  the 
company,  then  second,  then  first  lieutenant,  was  made  captain  on 
the  1st  of  November,  1862,  and  was  mustered  out  with  the  com 
pany  at  the  date  of  its  discharge.  Christoph  Roll,  who  was  a  first 
lieutenant  of  the  company,  resigned  February  1,  1862,  and  George 
Klein  resigned  the  same  rank  March  31,  1862,  and  Gustave 
Liskey  was  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  company  at  the  date  of  its 
muster  out  and  William  H.  H.  Green  was  the  second  lieutenant. 

Oliver  M.  Powers,  who  became  captain  of  Company  L  October 
23,  1862,  was  transferred  to  the  captaincy  of  Company  E,  Eighth 
Indiana  Cavalry  in  1865  and  mustered  out  with  that  regiment. 
George  J.  Langsdale,  who  became  first  lieutenant  of  the  company 
at  its  organization,  resigned  August  1,  1864,  and  Simeon  J. 
Mitchell  became  first  lieutenant,  and  he,  too,  was  transferred  to 
the  Eighth  Cavalry.  Byron  Dawson,  who  had  been  orderly  ser 
geant  of  the  company,  became  second  lieutenant  September  1, 
1864,  and  in  1865  was  transferred  and  made  captain  of  Company 
G,  Eighth  Indiana  Cavalry. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  185 

Charles  U.  Pattern,  commissioned  captain  of  Company  M  on  De 
cember  11,  1862,  continued  with  his  company  during  its  entire 
term  of  service  and  was  mustered  out  with  it  April  15,  1865,  in 
North  Carolina,  as  was  James  W.  Haymond,  who  was  first  lieu 
tenant  from  first  to  last,  with  this  company.  The  only  changes  in 
officers  of  this  company  were  in  that  of  second  lieutenant.  James 
W.  Stephens,  of  the  company,  left  the  service  January  1,  1863. 
Lieut.  Thomas  G.  Shaeffer  died  at  Resaca,  Ga.,  August  25,  1864, 
and  Samuel  Borton,  commissioned  second  lieutenant  on  November 
3,  1864,  was  mustered  out  with  the  company  April  15,  1865. 

First  Lieut.  George  H.  Thompson,  of  Company  E,  acted  as 
adjutant  of  the  Eastern  battalion  until  December  27,  1862,  when 
Gamaliel  S.  Taylor,  a  sergeant  of  that  company,  was  commis 
sioned  adjutant  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  the  muster  out 
of  the  battalion  in  August,  1864.  John  Greiner  served  as  com 
missary  until  May,  1863,  when  he  resigned,  and  Philo  G.  Leslie 
became  his  successor  and  continued  with  the  regiment  until  the 
close  of  its  service. 

Elias  W.  H.  Beck  was  commissioned  surgeon,  October  21,  1861, 
and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment.  His  first  assistant  was 
Luther  Brosie,  who  resigned  November  29,  1862,  and  James  H. 
Knight  was  commissioned  to  fill  the  vacancy  December  23,  1862. 
He  and  Dr.  Beck  served  with  the  Eastern  battalion  until  its 
muster  out.  Thomas  J.  Fritz  was  made  assistant  surgeon  of  the 
Western  battalion  February  4,  1863,  served  with  it  until  the  15th 
of  April,  1865,  and  was  transferred  to  and  mustered  out  with  the 
Eighth  Indiana  Cavalry  in  North  Carolina. 

List  of  men  who  died  of  disease  or  casualty,  while  in  the  service, 
other  than  those  who  died  of  wounds  received  or  were  killed  in 
action,  or  those  who  died  in  Southern  prisons : 
Adams,  George  W.,  Co.  — ,  Murfreesborough,  Term.  Accident. 
Burns,  Barney,  Co.  A,  Fredricksburg,  Va.,  Dec.  13,  1862.  Acci 
dent. 


186  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

Bucher,  Chas.,  Co.  C,  Rappahannock  River,  Va.,  1862.    Drowned. 

Buchanan,  Pleasant,  Co.  D,  Fredrick  City,  Md.    Disease. 

Barker,  Elijah,  Co.  D,  Alexandria,  Va.,  July  8,  1862. 

Branham,  Oscar  W.,  Co.  E,  Eredricksburg,  Va.,  Aug.  24,  1862. 
Disease. 

Bond,  Benjamin,  Co.  F,  Budds  Ferry,  Md.,  Nov.  30,  1861.   Dis 
ease. 

Brown,  Moses  H.  G.,  Co.  I,  Louisville,  Ky.,  January,  1862.    Dis 
ease. 

Boner,  John,  Co.  K,  Athens,  Ala.,  Aug.  2,  1862. 

Becker,  John,  Co.  K,  Huntsville,  Ala.,  Nov.  15,  1862. 

Barth,  Jacob,  Co.  M,  Fayetteville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  19,  1863. 

Chapman,  Hezekiah,  Co.  M,  Cedar  Grove.     Disease. 

Currie,  Marion,  Co.  — ,  Alexandria,  Va.,  May  26,  1864.    Disease. 

Clark,  William,  Co.  — ,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  April  22,  1865. 

Dennis,  Whitesil,  Co.  I,  Stevenson,  Ala.,  Sept.  20,  1863. 

Dunn,  Vincent,  Co.  K,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Sept.  7,  1862. 

Daniel,  John  R.,  Co.  M,  Brown  County,  Ind.,  April  11?  1865. 

Eurich,  Benedict,  Co.  M,  Indianapolis,  March  15,  1863.    Disease. 

Earhart,  James,  Co.  C,  Gallatin,  Tenn. 

Fouch,  Obion,  Co.  G,  Murfreesborough,  Tenn.,  March  17,  1863. 
Disease. 

Fee,  James,  Co.  H,  Murfreesborough,  Tenn.,  1863.    Disease. 

Gue,  Edward,  Co.  I,  Louisville,  Ky.,  January,  1862.    Disease. 

Hulley,  William,  Co.  — ,  Acqia  Creek,  Va.,  May  8,  1863.  Disease. 

Heiner,  Jacob,  Co.  G,  Camp  Shiloh,  Tenn.,  May  25,  1862.    Dis 
ease. 

Hobbs,  Jesse,  Co.  I,  Louisville,  Ky.,  January,  1862.    Disease. 

Heidman,  Dedrich,  Co.  K,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  April  18,  1862.   Dis 
ease. 

Hollings worth,  Isaac  N.,  Co.  L,  Stevenson,  Ala.,  Oct.  31,  1863. 

Hammond,  Henry  C.,  Co.  M,  Fayetteville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  14,  1863. 

Hama,  William  A.,  Co.  — ,  Sept.  30,  1862. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  187 

Koenig,  Daniel,  Co.  K,  Huntsville,  Ala.,  Aug.  24,  1862.    Disease. 

Knecht,  Clemens,  Co.  K,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  April  26,  1862.  Dis 
ease. 

Lopp,  Charles  H.,  Co.  H,  Evansville,  Ind.,  May  15,  1862. 

Lee,  Eobert  D.  F.,  Co.  I,  Louisville,  Ky.,  June,  1862.    Disease. 

Lipsey,  John,  Co.  M,  Indianapolis,  Jan.  29,  1863.    Disease. 

Lee,  Elisha,  Co.  M,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Nov.  4,  1863.    Disease. 

Miller,  John  I.,  Co.  A,  Dec.  11,  1863.    Disease. 

McKinsey,  Eesin  K.,  Co.  H,  Kingston,  Ga.,  Sept.  7,  1864.  Dis 
ease. 

McGuffin,  William  A.,  Co.  I,  February,  1862.    Accident. 

Meyer,  William,  Co.  K,  New  Albany,  Ind.,  June  2,  1864.  Disease. 

Mayhew,  Samuel  W.,  Co.  M,  Indianapolis,  March  20,  1863.  Dis 
ease. 

Mi mms.,  Wallenstein,  Co.  I,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Nutter,  Theodore  S.,  Co.  M,  Mt.  Olive,  N.  C.,  April,  1865.  Dis 
ease. 

Overholtzen,  John,  Co.  H,  Corinth,  Tenn.,  June  23,  1862.  Dis 
ease. 

Pickett,  Alfred,  Co.  C,  Jan.  15,  1864. 

Plenn,  Abram,  Co.  C. 

Pettit,  William  D.,  Co.  D,  Brandy  Station,  Va.,  Jan.  11,  1864. 
Disease. 

Porter,  Gillett,  Co.  D,  Washington,  D.  C.,  June  24,  1864.  Disease. 

Puckett,  Samuel  F.,  Co.  F,  Washington,  D.  C.,  July  9,  1863. 
Accident. 

Parkhurst,  Washington,  Co.  I,  Sandtown,  Ga.,  Sept.  9,  1864. 
Disease. 

Pavy,  Henry  C. 

Eoberts,  Kobert  W.,  Co.  A,  Budds  Ferry,  Md.,  March  1,  1862. 
Disease. 

Kitchel,  Curtis  C.,  Co.  E,  Hope  Landing,  Va.,  March  31,  1863. 
Disease. 


188  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

Russey,  Ithamer  W.,  Co.  G,  Chattanooga,  Term.,  Aug.  22,  1864. 
Disease. 

Rogers,  George  H.,Co.  G,  Thorntown,  Ind.,  June  5,  1862.  Disease. 

Eoss,  Samuel  H.  P.,  Co.  H,  Louisville,  Ky.,  Jan.  28,  1862.  Dis 
ease. 

Rickard,  James,  Co.  I,  Maxwell,  Ky.,  October,  1862.    Disease. 

Reed,  Theodore,  Co.  L,  Feb.  12,  1863. 

Smock,  David,  Co.  E,  Fredricksburg,  Va.,  Aug.  8,  1862.    Disease. 

Sebern,  Cornelius,  Co.  G,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  June  28,  1862.    Disease. 

Snow,  John,  Co.  G,  Edinburg,  Ind.,  March  20,  1862.    Disease. 

Stamper,  John,  Co.  — ,  Murfreesborough,  Term.,  April  21,  1863. 

Surran,  John  S.,  Co.  M,  Indianapolis,  July  21,  1863.    Disease. 

Shaeffer,  Thomas  G.,  Co.  M,  Resaca,  Ga.,  Aug.  25,  1864. 

Trowbridge,  Enoch,  Co.  C,  Washington,  Oct.  12,  1862. 

Townsend,  Isaac,  Co.  E,  Rockville,  Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862.    Disease. 

Thompson,  John  W.,  Co.  F,  Washington,  D.  C.,  July  14,  1862. 
Disease. 

Toops,  William  II.,  Co.  M,  Cumberland  Gap,  Tenn.,  Feb.  15, 
1864.  Disease. 

Tufts,  Louis,  Co.  — ,  July  15,  1864. 

Vansickle,  James,  Co.  M.,  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  19,  1864. 

Wright,  James  M.,  Co.  A,  Baltimore,  Md.,  Sept.  9,  1861.  Disease. 

William,  Winchell,  Co.  F,  Budds  Ferry,  Md.,  Nov.  30,  1861. 

West,  Robert  C.,  Co.  G,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  Jan.  7,  1862. 

Wilkinson,  George  M.,  Co.  M,  Louisville,  Ky.,  Oct.  18,  1863. 

Wenner,  Joseph,  Co.  M,  Richmond,  Ind. 

Whithead,  William  H.,  Co.  M,  Fayetteville,  Dec.  27,  1863. 

Wiseman,  Henry  W.,  Co.  — ,  Aug.  12,  1862. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  men  who  were  killed  or  died  of 
wounds  received  in  action,  with  dates  and  locations : 

Adams,  George  D.,  Co.  K,  Murfreesborough,  Tenn.,  July  15,  1863. 
Adams,  James  K,  Co.  A,  Culpepper,  Va.,  Sept.  13,  1863. 
Atkinson,  Joseph  M.,  Co.  A,  Yellow  Tavern,  June  8,  1864. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  189 

Banks,  Simeon,  Co.  C,  Eaccoon  Ford,  Va.,  Sept.  13,  1863. 
Bledsoe,  Benjamin  S.,  Co.  C,  White  Oak  Swamps,  Va.,  June  27, 

1864. 

Clever,  George  S.,  Co.  L,  Severeville,  Tenn.,  Feb.  20,  1864. 
Clements,  Keuben,  Co.  A,  Winchester,  Va.,  Sept.  19,  1864. 
Donnovan,  Peter,  Co.  G,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  April  10,  1862. 
Dunn,  McKee,  Co.  G,  Nolensville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  27,  1862. 
Evans,  John  H.,  Co.  B,  Eappahannock  Station,  September,  1863. 
Fallis,  David,  Co.  A,  Poolesville,  Md.,  Sept.  8,  1862. 
Ferguson,  William  H.,  Co.  A,  Brandy  Station,  Va.,  Aug.  1,  1863. 
Gorman,  Jas.  D.,  Co.  F,  White  Oak  Swamps,  Va.,  June  27,  1864. 
Green,  Marmaduke,  Co.  D,  Massaponax,  Va.,  Aug.  6,  1862. 
Gibbons,  Daniel,  Co.  G,  Stone  Kiver,  Ga.,  Dec.  31,  1862. 
Heath,  Samuel  A.,  Co.  C,  White  Oak  Swamps,  June  27,  1864. 
Heath,  Martin,  Co.  C,  Stephensburg,  Va.,  October,  1863. 
Holbert,  James  A.,  Co.  K,  Camp  Creek,  Ga.,  Sept.  24,  1864. 
Kirlin,  Thomas,  Co.  G,  Shelbyville,  Tenn.,  June  27,  1863. 
Kraft,  Bernard,  Co.  K,  Little  Kennesaw  River,  Tenn.,  Jan.  12, 

1864. 

Kennedy,  Walter  O.,  Co.  F,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  June  30,  1£63. 
Keoghler,  Harvey  M.,  Co.  F,  White  Oak  Swamps,  Va.,  June  27, 

1864. 

Lamb,  Samuel,  Co.  C,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  1,  1863. 
Loder,  Benjamin,  Co.  F,  Madison  C.  H.,  Va.,  Sept.  22,  1863. 
Lewis,  Joseph,  Co.  E,  Middletown,  Md.,  Sept.  13,  1862. 
Lemon,  Charles,  Major,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  1,  1863. 
Moore,  Stephen,  Co.  H,  Nolensville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  27,  1862. 
Mitchell,  DeWitt  C.,  Co.  L,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Aug.  31,  1864. 
Moyer,  Nicholaus,  Co.  K,  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  Feb.  26,  1864. 
Pebler,  David,  Co.  C,  Brandy  Station,  Va.,  Sept.  11,  1863. 
Park,  William,  Co.  E,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  1,  1863. 
Quinn,  James,  Co.  A,  South  Mountain,  Md.,  Sept.  13,  1862. 
Eoyce,  John  W.,  Co.  G,  Severeville,  Tenn.,  Feb.  20,  1864. 


190  HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

Story,  William,  Co.  E,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  1,  1863. 
Smith,  Jesse,  Co.  D,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  1,  1863. 
Seever,  Smyrna  W.,  Co.  E,  Middletown,  Va.,  Sept.  14,  1863. 
Trester,  Oliver  H.,  Co.  D,  Fredrick  City,  Md.,  Sept.  13,  1862. 
Williamson,  James  H.,  Co.  F,  Middletown,  Md.,  Sept.  13,  1862. 
Wright,  Augustus,  Co.  D,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  1,  1863. 
Weaver,  John  E.,  Co.  A,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  1,  1863. 
Zenger,  Ernest,  Co.  K,  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  Nov.  20,  1862. 

Lost  on  Steamer  Sultana,  April  27,  1865 : 
Kaney,  William,  Co.  C. 
Norman,  James,  Co.  F. 

List  of  men  who  died  in  Southern  prisons : 
Brindley,  Elijah,  Co.  A,  Richmond,  Va. 
Cunningham,  Samuel,  Co.  F,  Andersonville,  1864. 
Fuget,  Walter,  Co.  C,  Andersonville,  1864. 
Greenwood,  William  W.,  Co.  C,  Andersonville,  Oct.  23,  1864. 
Humphreys,  Isaac,  Co.  C,  Andersonville,  June  28,  1864. 
Hollingbuc,  Cornelius,  Co.  A,  Andersonville,  Oct.  23,  1864. 
Harney,  James,  Co.  I,  Andersonville,  Feb.  1,  1864. 
Joyce,  James. 

Kelso,  Edward,  Co.  C,  Andersonville,  June  13,  1864. 
Kennedy,  John  H.,  Co.  I,  Andersonville,  February,  1864. 
Lee,  John,  Co.  A,  Andersonville,  1864. 
Lewis,  Isaac,  Co.  C,  Andersonville,  July  7,  1864. 
Micha,  Lewis,  Co.  I,  Andersonville,  June  23,  1864. 
Moore,  William,  Co.  F,  Andersonville,  1864. 
McCarty,  Abram,  Co.  C,  Andersonville,  Oct.  27,  1864. 
Martin,  George  W.,  Co.  C,  Andersonville,  May  31,  1864. 
Prentiss,  Nelmore,  Co.  E,  Andersonville,  1864. 
Eogers,  Monroe  T.,  Co.  M,   Eichmond,  Va.,  Nov.  13,  1864. 
Vanarsdol,  Richard,  Co.  A,  Richmond,  Va. 

Many  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Third  Indiana  Cavalry  were 
captured  by  the  enemy  during  their  term  of  service,  and  many  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  191 

them  incurred  disabilities  from  which  they  never  recovered,  by 
reason  of  their  treatment  in  Southern  prisons,  but  all  returned  to 
the  service  or  their  homes  exchanged  or  paroled,  save  the  foregoing 
frightful  list,  most  of  whom  it  will  be  seen  died  in  Andersonville. 
One  of  our  surviving  prisoners  of  war  narrates  his  experience  in 
the  pages  with  which  we  close  this  volume  and  we  give  it  because 
we  believe  his  comrades  will  peruse  it  with  interest: 

"Argentine,  Kan.,  May  2,  1900. 

"My  Dear  Comrade — I  was  not  in  either  of  the  scrapes  men 
tioned  by  you,  the  one  at  Kelleys  Ford  or  in  the  rear  of  Fredricks- 
burg.  I  was  captured  on  the  5th  of  May,  1864,  at  Mine  Run, 
Virginia.  You  remember  we  left  Culpepper  Court  House  at  12 
o'clock  at  night,  crossed  the  Rapidan  at  daylight  and  advanced 
very  slowly  and  cautiously.  About  8  o'clock  in  the  morning  we 
formed  in  a  field  in  close  column  and  were  ordered  to  get  break 
fast.  My  coffee  had  just  come  to  a  boil  when  the  rebel  advance  ran 
into  us.  We  received  orders  to  mount  and  our  regiment  moved 
out  in  advance.  We  were  dismounted,  and  drove  the  rebels  back 
on  their  reserve.  If  you  remember,  it  was  very  hot  and  many  of 
the  boys  left  the  skirmish  line  to  hunt  for  water.  Captain  Moffitt 
rode  out  to  where  I  and  Orderly  Sergeant  Tracy  were  and  gave 
us  an  order  to  hold  our  post  at  all  hazards.  It  was  not  over  five 
minutes  until  the  rebels  advanced,  fifty  to  our  one,  and  Captain 
Moffitt  ordered  us  to  get  out  of  there,  every  fellow  for  himself.  I 
had  to  fall  back  across  a  field  and  the  rebels  were  within  twenty 
feet  of  me  when  I  started  to  run.  Rebel  bullets  fanned  both  sides 
of  my  face  and  struck  on  both  sides  of  my  feet  for  three  hundred 
yards.  I  got  safely  into  the  next  woods,  nearly  out  of  breath, 
climbed  the  fence  and  took  a  few  shots. 

"The  rebel  cavalry  was  charging  down  the  road  and  I  lit  out 
again  and  got  nearly  to  the  next  timber,  where  I  found  John  C. 
Flora  'given  out.'  He  said:  'I'll  be  goldarned  if  I'm  going  any 
farther  if  I'm  captured.'  I  said:  'I  am  going  to  try  and  get 


192  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIKD  INDIANA  CAVALBY. 

through  if  I  possibly  can.7  I  got  to  the  edge  of  the  woods,  found 
some  water  and  took  a  drink ;  it  was  as  warm  as  dishwater.  Capt. 
Moffitt  came  to  within  about  twenty-five  yards  of  me  and  asked 
if  any  more  of  our  boys  were  with  me  and  I  told  him  about  John 
C.  Flora.  Captain  Moffitt  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  got  out  of 
there,  and  when  I  got  to  where  I  could  see  there  were  about  two 
squadrons  of  our  cavalry  formed  across  the  road  and  I  thought 
they  would  check  the  rebels  until  I  got  through. 

"It  looked  to  me  as  though  they  shot  straight  up  in  the  air,  and 
then  broke  like  panic-stricken  sheep.  So  all  my  hopes  vanished 
and  I  was  doomed  to  be  a  prisoner  of  war.  In  five  minutes  there 
must  have  been  a  division  of  rebel  cavalry  between  me  and  our 
forces.  I  was  trying  to  sneak  down  to  the  right,  where  there  were 
some  small  pine  bushes,  to  hide  until  dark  and  then  crawl  through 
the  lines  at  night.  But  here  about  fifteen  or  twenty  rebels  came 
with  one  prisoner  by  the  name  of  Bradley  from  a  Connecticut 
regiment.  The  rebel  in  the  rear  was  walking  and  leading  his 
horse,  which  had  been  wounded.  All  the  rest  passed  by  me  and 
did  not  see  me,  but  this  rear  fellow,  who  had  no  arms,  saw  me. 
I  drew  up  my  carbine  to  shoot  him,  but  the  poor  fellow  pleaded 
for  me  not  to  do  it,  and  it  did  seem  hard,  but  I  thought  of  Ander- 
sonville  and  drew  on  him  again  and  again.  The  last  time  his  cries 
drew  the  attention  of  his  comrades,  and  I  walked  out  and  said: 
'Boys,  you  have  the  advantage  of  me  in  numbers.'  Well,  they 
robbed  me  of  my  watch  and  hat  and  gave  me  one  of  their  soft, 
limp  cotton  hats  with  about  as  much  shape  as  a  dishrag.  They  took 
us  (Bradley  and  me)  to  the  provost  marshal  and  from  there  we 
began  our  march  to  the  interior  of  rebeldom. 

"We  went  to  Orange  Court  House  the  first  day  and  camped  for 
the  night.  The  next  morning  the  ball  opened  early,  and  ambu 
lances  and  wounded  men  began  coming  back  single  file,  some  of 
the  wounded  screaming  with  pain;  and  I  thought  to  myself  that 
is  a  different  tune  from  what  you  sang  last  night  when  you  bragged 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  193 

about  going  down  to  clean  out  the  Yanks.  The  second  day  we 
reached  Gordonsville,  where  we  remained  four  or  five  days  and 
then  went  to  Danville,  where  they  put  us  in  a  tobacco  warehouse 
and  kept  us  about  two  days.  Then  they  moved  us  out  on  a  com 
mon  in  a  suburb  of  the  town  and  guarded  us  there  like  cattle  four 
or  five  days  more.  Then  they  loaded  us  into  cattle  cars  and  started 
us  to  Andersonville,  where  we  arrived  about  the  16th  of  June,  and 
soon  learned  that  the  notoriety  of  the  place  had  not  been  overesti 
mated. 

"I  shall  not  try  at  this  time  to  describe  the  sights  I  saw  and  the 
treatment  our  boys  received.  You,  no  doubt,  have  read  about  it 
in  books  by  comrades  who  were  better  qualified  than  I  am  to  tell 
about  it.  I  can  forgive  everything  else  but  rebel  treatment  of  our 
prisoners  of  war.  I  was  in  the  stockade  about  six  weeks.  Our  quar 
termaster  sergeant  and  the  rebel  quartermaster  were  Masons.  Our 
rations  were  cooked  one  day  and  raw  the  next;  and  then  raw  all 
the  time.  I  took  chronic  diarrhrea  like  many  of  the  men,  some  of 
whom  were  so  far  gone  they  could  not  get  to  the  sinks.  On  the 
evening  of  the  last  day  I  was  in  the  stockade  I  began  to  think  I 
would  soon  be  like  them,  if  better  luck  did  not  come  to  me. 

"Bradley,  David  Atherton  and  I  bunked  together  and  the  three 
of  us  had  one  blanket.  When  I  was  scarcely  able  to  crawl  into  the 
bunk  Bradley  came  around  and  said :  'Sterrett,  I  have  some  good 
news  for  you.7  'Well,  what  is  it  ?'  Then  he  said  the  rebel  quar 
termaster  ordered  our  quartermaster  to  hunt  up  all  the  Masons  in 
his  detachment  and  report  at  the  gate  at  9  o'clock  the  next  morn 
ing.  I  replied :  'I  guess  we  will  be  there  on  time/  We  were  all 
sent  to  Captain  Wirtz7  headquarters  and  signed  an  agreement  that 
if  we  behaved  ourselves  and  did  not  try  to  run  away  we  would  be 
sent  off  with  the  first  exchange  of  prisoners  of  war. 

"Then  we  went  to  work  in  the  cook  house.  Jim  Duncan  was 
captain  of  the  cook  house  and  bakery ;  we  had  rollcall  every  night 
and  morning.  One  day  Duncan  came  in  with  a  big  raw-boned, 


194  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

burly  fellow  with  side  arms,  who  made  the  remark  that  'cotton 
was  king  and  was  bound  to  come  out  victorious,  and  when  the 
Southern  States  gained  their  independence  he  was  going  into  the 
slave  trade  and  ship  negroes  from  Africa.'  I  told  him  a  year 
would  tell  the  tale  and  that  I  did  not  think  he  would  ever  have  the 
opportunity  of  going  into  the  slave  business.  I  had  them  hot 
enough  to  bite  a  nail  in  two. 

"A  prisoner  named  Frank  Turner  and  I  were  bunk  mates  at  the 
,  cook  house,  and  Frank  had  managed  in  some  way  to  smuggle  some 
money  into  the  stockade.  There  was  also  an  Irishman  by  the 
name  of  Patrick  O'Conner  of  the  Eleventh  IT.  S.  Regulars,  whom 
the  rebels  had  taken  outside  as  a  detective  to  prevent  the  prisoners 
from  trading  with  the  negroes  or  anyone  else  outside  the  stockade. 
Turner  bought  a  sack  of  flour  and  O'Conner  got  on  to  it,  and  had 
Duncan  confiscate  it.  On  the  5th  of  September  five  of  us  ran  off 
from  Andersonville,  and  on  the  fourth  day  about  4  p.  m.  we  were 
recaptured  by  old  soldiers  who  had  been  wounded  at  the  front. 
They  were  jolly  good  fellows  and  sent  a  man  ahead  to  Lumpkin, 
the  county  seat  of  Stewart  county,  Georgia,  and  ordered  our  sup 
pers  at  an  old  planter's.  We  had  butter,  milk,  cornbread,  honey 
and  meat,  and  we  thought  it  was  the  best  supper  we  had  ever  seen. 
Just  as  I  had  finished  my  supper  I  said  to  the  old  man:  'Land 
lord,  what  are  we  going  to  do  about  this  supper?  We  are  the 
poorest  guests  that  you  could  possibly  have.  We've  got  the  supper 
and  appreciate  it  very  much.'  'Well,'  said  the  old  man,  'boys,  I 
have  a  son  in  a  Northern  prison  and  if  you  should  get  back  and 
have  the  chance  and  treat  him  as  I  have  treated  you  I  will  be  re 
paid.'  So  we  thanked  the  old  man  and  set  out  for  Lumpkin. 

"Arriving  there  the  guards  turned  us  over  to  the  sheriff  or 
jailer.  He  was  a  saloon  keeper  and  held  the  office  of  jailer,  which 
exempted  him  from  military  service.  It  was  Sunday  evening  and 
there  were  several  in  to  see  us,  and  they  found  out  I  was  a  Mason 
and  I  felt  pretty  well.  They  began  to  treat  us,  and  when  we 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  195 

started  to  jail  were  feeling  pretty  rich,  for  prisoners  of  war.  Some 
of  our  friends  tried  to  get  the  jailer  to  leave  the  jail  unlocked  and 
let  us  get  away.  The  jailer  was  afraid  of  losing  his  job  and  being 
compelled  to  go  into  the  army,  but  we  had  the  best  fare  and  kindest 
treatment  of  any  place  in  the  South.  One  old  farmer  came  to  see  us 
and  brought  with  him  a  bucketful  of  nice  hot  biscuits.  He  came 
with  the  jailer  and  had  him  let  us  out  for  fresh  air,  so  we  could  do 
justice  to  the  biscuits.  And  they  were  the  only  biscuits  we  ever 
got  to  see  in  the  Confederacy.  The  old  man  told  us  he  was  in  full 
sympathy  with  the  South  but  that  he  respected  our  views,  for 
people  in  different  sections  of  the  country  would  have  different 
views.  The  old  man  finally  left  us  and  we  were  put  back  in  jail. 
"Lumpkin  is  a  beautiful  place,  large  lots  and  nice  shade  trees. 
Our  next  place  was  Columbus,  Ga.,  and  when  they  brought  us  out 
of  jail  an  old  German  shoemaker,  doing  quite  an  extensive  busi 
ness,  came  and  told  the  man  in  charge  of  us  to  turn  us  over  to  him 
and  he  would  be  responsible  for  us.  He  took  us  to  his  shoe  shop 
and  gave  each  of  us  a  pair  of  shoes  and  socks,  as  we  were  all  bare 
footed,  and  we  greatly  appreciated  his  kindness.  We  were  then 
started  to  Columbus  and  had  an  awful  trip  walking  in  the  loose 
sand.  We  stopped  the  first  night  on  the  bank  of  the  Chattahoochie 
river  and  were  guarded  by  citizens  in  charge  of  a  corporal  of  the 
home  militia.  That  night  when  they  thought  we  were  asleep  they 
cursed  us  for  all  the  d — d  Yankees.  The  next  morning  the  sun 
arose  in  all  its  beauty  and  we  trudged  on  towards  Columbus.  We 
traveled  two  or  three  miles  before  breakfast  and  then  continued 
on  our  journey.  At  noon  we  stopped  for  a  rest  and  the  guards  set 
their  guns  down  in  a  fence  corner  and  climbed  over  the  fence  to 
get  corn  for  their  horses.  They  were  completely  in  our  hands 
and  I  pleaded  with  the  boys  to  take  their  guns  and  we  would  march 
them  awhile.  The  boys  thought  it  would  only  be  the  worse  for 
us,  so  I  gave  it  up. 


196  HlSTOEY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

"That  night  about  dusk  we  reached  Columbus,  and  I  was  so 
tired  I  could  hardly  drag  one  foot  after  the  other.  The  corporal 
took  us  with  him  to  hunt  up  the  provost  marshal  and,  after  calling 
on  several  of  his  relatives,  found  him.  We  were  sent  to  jail  for 
safe  keeping,  but  did  not  receive  the  same  kind  treatment  we  did 
at  Lumpkin.  We  were  here  about  two  weeks  and  were  then  sent 
to  Macon,  Ga.  There  we  were  put  in  the  old  stockade  fair  ground, 
southeast  of  Macon,  for  about  six  weeks.  We  had  not  been  there 
long  until  my  old  friend  Pat  O'Conner,  of  the  Eleventh  Regulars, 
came  walking  in.  I  said :  'Conner,  I  thought  you  liked  the  rebels 
too  well  to  leave  them.'  'Oh/  he  said,  'I  did  not  like  them  as  well 
as  you  might  suppose.'  'Well/  I  said,  'you  have  come  to  a  good 

place  to  get  paid  for  some  of  your meanness.'  He  passed 

right  on  and  would  not  talk  to  me. 

"In  a  short  time  after  this  the  rebels  wanted  to  build  some  bar 
racks  and  they  had  no  carpenters.  So  they  came  inside  to  see  if 
there  were  any  Yankee  carpenters.  There  were  six  of  us,  viz., 
Frank  Twist,  Henry  C.  Knowles,  Freeman  Sands,  John  Lovell, 
H.  C.  Hartwell  and  myself.  They  took  out  the  two  first  one  day, 
but  they  would  not  work  without  terms.  They  told  the  post  car 
penter  they  had  four  other  comrades  in  the  stockade,  that  we  had 
stuck  together  through  thick  and  thin  and  they  would  not  go  out 
and  work  unless  they  took  the  other  four  and  let  us  stay  outside 
and  not  go  back  in  the  stockade  of  nights  while  we  were  there. 
Their  wishes  were  granted  and  we  all  got  out. 

"In  a  few  days  after  this  the  rebels  issued  an  order  that  any 
Yankee  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Confederacy  would  be 
protected  by  the  law  of  the  State  and  not  subject  to  military  duty, 
and  all  foreigners  who  should  take  the  oath  should  have  the  same 
privilege  of  citizenship;  and,  further,  if  they  would  take  the 
chances  of  running  the  blockade,  they  would  send  them  to  their 
own  country.  So  one  morning  all  but  two  left  to  run  the  blockade ; 
my  friend  O' Conner  and  a  big  burly  Englishman  remained. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  197 

Our  quarters  were  inside  the  foundation  of  a  commissary  build 
ing  the  rebels  had  started  to  build.  The  sills  were  mortised  to 
gether  and  about  two  feet  high.  Our  quarters  were  in  the  south 
end  and  O'Conner  and  the  Englishman  were  in  the  north  end.  We 
had  no  correspondence  with  them.  I  took  the  intermittent  fever 
and  was  awful  sick  for  several  days.  Finally  I  got  better  and  I 
gpt  out  of  the  hospital  and  in  two  or  three  days  after  I  had  a  hard 
shake  of  the  ague. 

"My  esteemed  friend  Pat  O'Conner  was  up  in  Macon  with  some 
of  his  Irish  friends  and  got  drunk  enough  to  want  to  fight.  I  had 
an  awful  shake  of  the  ague  that  forenoon  and  our  only  quarters 
were  a  shed  open  to  the  south.  The  sun  shone  in  on  me,  and  Frank 
Twist,  who  had  come  in  at  noon,  told  me  to  take  a  blanket  and  go 
over  and  lie  in  the  quarters  of  O'Conner  and  the  Englishman,  as 
he  thought  they  had  all  gone  to  run  the  blockade  that  morning. 
I  followed  his  advice,  took  my  blanket  and  went  over  and  laid 
down  in  the  first  bunk  I  came  to  and  laid  there  until  late  in  the 
evening,  when  the  boys  came  from  work.  About  this  time  my 
friend  O'Conner  came  in  and,  walking  up,  says:  'What  the  hell 
are  you  doing  in  my  bunk?'  I  told  him  about  my  shake  and  he 
said:  'A  bunk  that  is  worth  having  is  worth  asking  for.7  Just 
then  that  sack  of  flour  came  into  my  mind  and  I  jumped  to  my 
feet  and  said:  'Pat  Conner,  you  were  not  here  to  ask,  but  don't 
think  for  a  minute  there  is  anybody  here  afraid  of  you.'  He  began 
to  pull  his  coat,  for  I  had  raised  his  ire,  and  he  made  for  me.  I 
grabbed  up  a  two-by-four  piece  of  scantling  about  three  feet  long 
and  gave  him  one ;  he  landed  about  ten  feet  away  on  the  west  side 
of  the  foundation  and,  raising  his  feet  over  his  head,  trembled  like 
a  dying  calf.  I  gave  him  another  with  the  flat  side  of  the  scantling 
on  the  seat,  and  you  could  have  heard  it  three  hundred  yards  away. 
I  was  making  the  third  blow  across  his  forehead  when  three  of  the 
comrades  jumped  on  me  and  stopped  it.  That  blow  would  have 
mashed  his  head  to  a  jelly. 


198  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

aHe  finally  got  up  and  went  to  Captain  Hurtell,  of  Alabama, 
and  reported  me.  Captain  Hurtell  and  the  post  surgeon  were 
Masons.  Frank  Twist  and  Knowles  went  to  them  and  told  them 
all  about  O?  Conner  and  how  he  had  played  traitor  with  his  own 
comrades ;  Captain  Hurtell  told  O7 Conner  he  had  better  attend  to 
his  own  business  and  keep  sober  and  he  would  not  have  any  trouble 
with  the  boys,  'as  they  are  without  exception  the  best  boys  in  the 
stockade.'  O'Conner  was  sent  to  the  hospital  and  I  was  there  off 
and  on  and  saw  him.  After  the  surrender  I  never  saw  him  again. 
The  next  morning  Captain  Hurtell  came  over  to  me  and  talked 
to  me  more  like  a  brother  than  a  rebel  officer. 

"Our  carpenter  work  at  Macon  did  not  last  long.  Kilpatrick 
came  through  there  on  a  raid  and  burned  the  mill  we  got  our 
lumber  from  and  part  of  us  were  sent  with  the  post  carpenter  to 
Columbus,  Ga.,  to  build  a  platform  between  two  railroads,  so  the 
freight  could  be  moved  from  one  railroad  to  the  other  on  trucks. 
We  had  a  good  time  down  there.  I  saw  the  gunboat  the  rebels 
had  built  and  could  not  launch.  We  completed  our  job  at  Colum 
bus  and  went  back  to  Macon.  We  learned  through  our  headquar- 
ter's  friends  that  Mr.  Gruber  wanted  five  hundred  cords  of  wood 
cut,  and  that  he  would  furnish  us  rations  and  give  so  much  a  cord 
for  cutting.  A  Dr.  Johnson  also  came  in  and  wanted  to  know  if 
there  were  any  blacksmiths  there  and  we  told  him  there  were  two 
of  us.  He  wanted  a  buggy  repaired  and  asked  us  to  come  over  to 
his  house  the  next  morning  and  go  to  work.  We  went  and  had  a 
good  time.  We  repaired  his  buggy,  did  lots  of  work  and  got  all 
the  confederate  money  we  wanted  to  buy  sweet  potatoes  with. 

"We  next  got  orders  to  return  to  Macon ;  that  there  was  to  be  a 
general  exchange  of  prisoners.  We  got  the  papers  every  day  and 
we  did  not  see  a  word  about  the  exchange  of  prisoners  in  them. 
Before  we  left  Columbus  a  widow  lady  told  me  if  I  was  not  satis 
fied  that  we  were  to  be  exchanged,  to  come  to  her  house  and  she 
would  keep  me  and  the  rebels  would  not  find  me.  We  went  to 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  199 

Macon  and  reported.  They  were  getting  ready  to  send  us  to  An 
dersonville,  so  we  started  to  run  off  and  traveled  part  of  one  night, 
but  it  was  very  wet  and  we  were  wholly  unprepared  for  such  a  trip, 
as  we  had  no  rations.  Frank  Twist  and  H.  G.  Knowles  had  been 
planning  to  escape  and  had  made  the  necessary  arrangements  and 
left  the  same  night.  I  went  back  and  went  to  the  woman  who  had 
volunteered  her  services.  Hartwell  A.  Lovett  also  had  a  place  to 
stay,  so  we  all  had  places  to  stop.  I  finally  wrote  a  pass  and  forged 
the  general's  and  adjutant-general's  names  to  it,  and  we  went  to 
work  cutting  wood.  The  militia  never  bothered  us  but  once,  and  I 
showed  them  our  pass  and  the  militia  said  we  were  all  right.  The 
pass  was  a  copy  of  the  kind  of  passes  the  rebels  had  given  us  be 
fore.  We  went  out  in  the  country  to  cut  wood  and  there  we  found 
out  that  there  really  was  an  exchange  of  prisoners  agreed  upon  and 
that  the  department  commandants  at  Macon  had  been  changed. 
Sands  and  I  counseled  together  as  to  the  best  thing  to  do  and  con 
cluded  to  go  to  General  Pillow  in  Macon  and  report  to  him  that 
we  had  been  working  as  paroled  prisoners  of  war,  and  he  treated 
us  with  great  respect  and  offered  to  do  anything  for  us  if  we  would 
stay  in  Macon,  saying  if  we  went  home  we  would  have  to  stay  in 
the  army  and  if  we  remained  in  Macon  we  would  not  have  to  go 
in  the  army.  But  he  gave  us  three  days'  rations  and  transporta 
tion  to  Andersonville,  and  we  went  there  by  train  and  reported  to 
Captain  Wirtz,  handing  him  General  Pillow's  instructions  not  to 
place  us  in  the  stockade,  but  send  us  off  with  the  first  prisoners 
exchanged.  So  in  about  a  week  we  were  sent  to  Thomasville,  Ga. 
When  we  got  there  General  Grant,  it  seems,  had  informed  them 
that  there  would  be  no  further  exchanging,  as  he  expected  to  have 
all  the  rebels  as  prisoners  in  a  short  time.  So,  downcast,  we  started 
back  to  Andersonville,  going  by  way  of  Albany,  where  we  camped 
by  the  largest  spring  I  ever  saw. 

"The  day  after  we  left  Albany  we  reached  Andersonville  and 
at  noon  were  standing  in  front  of  Captain  Wirtz'  headquarters  to 


200  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY. 

be  counted  off  in  detachments  of  one  hundred  each  and  the  one 
hundred  men  were  divided  into  messes  of  twenty  each.  I  was  in 
the  first  one  hundred  and  in  the  second  mess,  and  was  appointed 
to  take  charge  of  and  distribute  the  rations  to  the  twenty  men  that 
I  belonged  to.  Here  we  got  word  that  Lee  had  surrendered.  They 
marched  us  down  to  the  depot  and  halted  us  until  .about  eight  hun 
dred  men  were  counted  off.  I  sat  down  on  the  platform  at  the 
depot.  Captain  Wirtz  came  up  in  front  of  us  and  the  last  words 
I  ever  heard  him  speak  were :  'Attention,  you  d — d  Yankee  s — s 
of  b— s.7 

"I  struck  a  beeline  up  the  railroad  and  at  2  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon  was  at  Flint  River,  ten  miles  away.  If  ever  a  poor  fellow 
traveled,  I  did.  I  left  Andersonville  at  noon  on  Thursday  and 
on  Friday  night  at  2  p.  m.  I  had  walked  back  to  Macon  and  re 
ported  at  the  home  of  my  intended  mother-in-law,  for  you  see 
while  I  was  cutting  wood  near  Macon,  as  I  have  told  you,  I  was  also 
courting  the  girl  of  the  lady  who  boarded  me,  and  we  were  engaged 
to  be  married.  On  that  walk  from  Andersonville  to  Macon  I  met 
four  or  five  of  the  Seventeenth  Indiana  Mounted  Infantry.  They 
yelled,  'How  are  you,  Johnny/  and  I  said  to  them,  'You  guessed 
my  name  when  I  am  in  God's  country.'  They  told  me  they  be 
longed  to  the  Seventeenth  Indiana  and  I  told  them  that  was  where 
I  belonged  when  at  home,  and  told  them  I  was  from  Andersonville. 
They  pulled  off  their  hats,  gave  three  cheers  and  said :  'You're  all 
right  now  and  the  whole  Confederacy  has  surrendered.' 

"On  Thursday  after  I  returned  to  Macon,  General  Wilson  took 
the  city  and  on  the  Saturday  following  I  reported  to  the  general 
quartermaster.  On  the  7th  day  of  May,  1865,  I  was  married  and 
in  about  ten  days  afterward  we  were  sent  to  Washington,  then  to 
Annapolis,  and  then  to  Camp  Chase,  Ohio,  where  I  was  mustered 
out  of  service  on  the  28th  day  of  June,  1865. 

"I  visited  my  home  in  Indiana  for  a  few  days  and  went  back 
to  Georgia  after  my  wife  and  returned  home  and  went  to  work. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRD  INDIANA  CAVALRY.  201 

I  lived  in  Columbia,  Ind.,  until  1878  and  then  went  to  Lincoln 
county,  Kansas,  always  working  at  my  trade  as  blacksmith,  but  had 
to  give  it  up  on  account  of  my  health.  I  then  went  to  Andrew 
county,  Missouri,  where  I  stayed  two  years,  then  coming  to  this 
part  of  the  country,  where  I  have  been  since,  except  for  a  time  I 
was  an  inmate  of  the  State  Soldier's  Home,  at  Dodge  City. 

"That  is  a  pretty  place  and  nice  home,  but  out  of  the  way,  so  I 
took  a  discharge  from  there  and  made  application  to  the  National 
Home  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  where  I  am  still  a  member.  I  take  a 
furlough  and  have  it  renewed  when  it  runs  out,  so  I  can  return 
there  in  case  of  emergency. 

"My  wife  died  on  the  12th  of  November,  1893.  Her  name  was 
Josephine  Braddock.  I  was  born  at  Everton,  Fayette  county, 
Indiana,  on  the  29th  of  December,  1839,  and  am  now  going  on 
sixty-one  years  of  age.  Well,  comrade,  I  have  made  you  a  state 
ment  of  my  life  from  the  5th  of  May,  1864,  through  my  prison 
life  down  to  the  present  time.  Since  I  came  here  I  have  worked  at 
everything  there  is  to  do.  I  have  worked  in  a  smelter,  on  a  rail 
road  section,  on  the  streets,  at  stone  work,  carpenter  work,  and  in 
a  stone  quarry,  and  am  pretty  well  worked  down.  I  think  I  shall 
go  to  the  Home  and  take  a  rest.  If  my  small  boys  were  old 
enough  to  make  their  way  I  would  spend  my  time  at  the  Home  and 
visit  through  the  summer  season. 

"I  have  gone  through  many  adversities  and  have  lived,  now, 
fifteen  years  longer  than  I  expected  to  live.  I  don't  think  it  pos 
sible  to  go  on  that  much  longer.  I  might  just  as  well  say  I  am 
waiting  my  appointed  time,  when  it  may  be  said  of  me:  'He 
fought  the  good  fight,  he  has  kept  the  faith,  and  henceforth  there 
is  laid  up  for  him  a  crown,  that  shall  never  fade.' 

"Your  comrade, 

"J.  H.  STERRETT." 

THE  END. 


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